Fight For Survival
by Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010
Summary: A weeklong wilderness excursion was meant to be fun and educational. However after a string of events, it becomes a fight for survival. For Alan and two others, they will have to learn to trust each other during times of great stress. Ties are tested and boundaries are pushed, but for these three boys it is simply a fight to survive. Rated M to be safe.
1. Across The Border

**_A/N: So, this is a story I've been working on for the last few years. Its four chapters long, and I've debated on posting it over the years. I've been working on my other stories as well as this one and figure if I can get this posted then I won't constantly be dividing my time between several stories that are still waiting to be finished. It's getting to be the busy season where I work and my postings may be sporadic, though my intention is to post this story gradually over the next couple days. Please read and enjoy but most importantly keep in mind that I'm a novice writer and I do make mistakes like everyone else. No flames and no disparaging remarks. I don't utilize the aid of a beta reader and all mistakes are my own._**

**_Thanks!_**

**_Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010_**

* * *

A weeklong wilderness excursion was just what the doctor ordered to the boys cooped up in Mr. Henderson's physical education class. Out of thirty boys in the class, there would be six groups split up with a supervisor taking the boys through various areas, meeting up at checkpoints.

Alan Tracy was bursting at the seams. He was excited at the prospect of camping with his friends. He was lucky to be placed in a group with at least two of his closest friends, Fermat and Andrew. The other two boys weren't close friends of Alan's, but he endured their presence. Matthew and Jared weren't exactly friends, but they weren't enemies either.

"Okay boys, before boarding the bus tomorrow I need to have your permission slips in hand. Be ready to go at quarter to ten tomorrow morning. We will stop at the gas station when the bus needs to be fueled to take a pit stop and pick up any snacks or beverages. Is that agreeable with everyone?" Mr. Henderson stood at the front of his class looking expectantly at his students. He was looking forward to this annual trip as much as every one of his students.

"Yes sir." Many voices replied. Alan turned to Fermat and Andrew giving the both an excited grin, before standing after their teacher excused them from class.

"Guys, we are going to have so much fun!" Andrew was bouncing around in barely concealed excitement.

"I know right? This trip is going to be one we won't soon forget!" Alan gave a high five to Andrew, before turning to Fermat. "Are you as excited as Drew and I?"

"A-Absolutely! Come on, let's go back t-to our dorm." Alan and Fermat waved in farewell at Andrew, before turning to head to their room. Alan and Fermat needed to talk to both their father's and go over a few last-minute items that had come in the mail, via care package for the purpose of the trip.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Jeff and Brains sat talking amongst themselves. They were going over the schematics for a new tool to assist with safer extractions of people in cave-ins. The concept was similar to the Jaws of Life used in vehicular accidents, but it wasn't the exact same, this was designed to shear through rock like a hot knife goes through butter. Jeff's video-phone began to ring and Jeff answered quickly to see who would be calling so early in the morning.

"Hello, this is Jefferson Tracy." Jeff answered the phone without looking at the screen.

"Hey dad!" Alan's voice rang out, excitement prevalent in his voice.

"Hello Alan, I wasn't expecting you to call right now." Glancing down at his watch it occurred to him that his son had only just finished classes for the day. "How were your classes today?"

"They were great!" Jeff glanced at the screen of his vid-phone to see his youngest was nothing but smiles.

"That's great to hear Al." Jeff motioned to Brains to come around to his side of the desk so they could both talk to their sons instead of only being able to hear the conversation. "Would Fermat be available by chance?"

"Yeah, he's actually just now opening the parcel we received in the mail this morning." Alan looked off camera before he waved his hand at Fermat who was just off screen, before the younger boy stepped into the frame.

"H-Hey Mr. Tracy! Hey dad!" Fermat stood just behind Alan looking over the blonde's shoulder.

"Hello Fermat." Jeff replied warmly.

"Hello s-son. How are you?" Brains smiled at Fermat and Alan both, glad to see them happy and healthy.

"G-Good. I'm s-stoked about tomorrow's t-trip!" Fermat said as he struggled to open the parcel in his hands, when Alan grabbed what appeared to be a letter opener from a drawer not visible on screen and handed it back to his friend. "Thanks Alan."

"No prob." Alan replied.

Jeff and Brains both smirked knowingly. Alan hadn't turned to see that Fermat was struggling to open the sealed box…he just happened to know, despite Fermat not making his struggle vocal. Alan was different in that sense; his brothers teased Alan constantly about his uncanny intuitiveness. Gordon swore that under that blonde mop of hair that Alan had eyes in the back of his head. When they were growing up, Gordon had checked Alan's hair for a second pair of eyes. That search came up fruitless.

"Got it!" Fermat crowed in relief when he finally got the box open. Again Alan held up his hand, waiting to receive the letter opener from his friend. Fermat placed the handle of the dull blade in Alan's hand, before the blonde lowered his hand and a drawer could be heard closing. "L-Let's see what we've got h-here."

Fermat and Alan both dug through the box before they came up with a pair of hiking boots in both boy's sizes. Alan and Fermat continued to dig through and pulled out a couple rucksacks to carry. Opening the rucksacks, Alan and Fermat discovered a first aid kit, poncho, a little hand saw for cutting firewood, emergency flares, a whistle and a map. It was just the things that their dad's had sent to prepare them for this trip.

"Thanks dad, Brains…this stuff sure will come in handy." Alan sincerely thanked his dad and surrogate uncle.

"S-Sure will! Thanks dad, Mr. Tracy!" Fermat reciprocated Alan's word of thanks.

"You boys are very welcome. However, there is something you should know." Jeff paused to make sure he had Alan and Fermat's attention. "Just to let you know, the boots we sent you have an extra component hidden inside. It's a tracker that Onaha and Tin-Tin hid in the heel of your boots."

"Whoa, really?" Alan picked up his boot to inspect it and couldn't locate just where Tin-Tin and Onaha had hidden the tracker.

"Yes, the nice thing is…should we lose contact with you, for whatever reason; we'll always know just where you boys are. The tracker can only be located using a relay program on Thunderbird Five." Jeff knew that it could be seen as paranoia, him tracking his son and his son's friend while on a hiking trip…but it never hurt to be proactive.

"Is there anything special we have to do to activate the tracker?" Alan thought to ask, knowing that it would be imperative to know should anything happen.

"You'll have to press and hold the little button next to the logo on your boot, Brains was able to wire it so you'd be able to activate it." Jeff said advising both boys of the trick to start tracking.

Both boys shared equal words of thanks before they both tried on a boot to ensure of the fit. Alan and Fermat skimmed through their rucksacks their family had sent them and 'oohed' and 'awed' over the materials inside. In Fermat's bag, there was a spare pair of glasses in the event the boy lost or broke the pair he was currently wearing and in Alan's was embarrassingly enough a spare retainer for him to keep with him.

"Thank you very much dad, Brains. This stuff will certainly come in handy." Alan held up his retainer box and raised an eyebrow in his dad's direction as if to ask '_really_'? Jeff chuckled at the look on Alan's face.

"It's best if you keep wearing it, I know you don't care for the slur it causes…but it's better to have a slur right before bed than it is to need to be put back in braces." Jeff spoke the truth. Gordon had learned that the hard way and Jeff wanted to go to any length possible to make sure Alan didn't go through the same thing. Just getting the braces removed put the boy in tears and he'd taken pain medication like the orthodontist said. But that was another story for another time.

"Alright dad." Alan grinned at his dad. "But then maybe I'll have bigger fish to fry…particularly lions and tigers and bears."

"Oh my." Jeff had to chuckle, the Wizard of Oz had been the kids' favorite movie when they were growing up and to this day, despite their age…his sons enjoyed throwing movie quotes out in the face of whatever they were experiencing. Currently, Alan and Fermat were going to be several hundred miles away from civilization, on a camping trip in the mountains of Canada.

A knock at the door signaled to Alan and Fermat that someone was wishing to gain access to their dorm room. Both boys turned their heads to look at the door before sharing a look. Fermat who was already standing, moved to answer the door. Jeff and Brains remained silent for a short spell until they heard Fermat's laugh and saw a smile break out on Alan's face.

"Hey Drew!" Alan waved his other friend into the dorm room and waited while Fermat closed their dorm room door. "What's up?"

"Just coming by to see what you were up to. And have I said how excited I am about tomorrow's trip?" Alan and Fermat had to laugh at that. This would be Andrew's first trip across country borders. Alan always had found it kind of odd that his friend, though the boy's father worked for the United States Department of Defense had never traveled beyond the United States. "Oh…hello Mr. Tracy, Mr. Hackenbacker. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"You didn't, we wouldn't have answered the door if you were bothering us." Alan stuck his tongue out at his friend, both boys chuckling. "Dad, Brains…this is Andrew McCrery, his father is…"

"I know, the Secretary of Defense. Hello Andrew, how are you doing?" Jeff had to smile at his son and his friends. Jeff may not leave the island very much unless it involved business, but he wasn't as cut off from the world as his sons sometimes liked to believe.

"I'm doing swell Mr. Tracy, and how are you?" Andrew was used to being around imposing figures his whole life, so he didn't bat an eye at the imposing figure of the reclusive Jefferson Tracy, ex-astronaut, multi-billionaire, Tracy Aeronautics Founder and CEO. Talking to Jeff was a cake walk for him.

"I'm doing well. I was just running over a list with Alan, Brains and Fermat about wilderness safety…feel free to join us." Jeff offered and he'd smiled when the boy nodded exuberantly and sat in to listen to the rundown.

The group sat and talked for a short spell, until Jeff and Brains looked off camera at something and seemed to signal to Alan and Fermat with a closed nod of the head and careful eye contact that the silent Klaxon had sounded and that they were needed on a rescue. Alan was the first to signal the end of the conversation.

"Well, dad…I hate to cut this conversation short…but I'm starving and I want to hit the hay early tonight." Alan's smile was tight as he realized that he'd have no choice but to sit on the sidelines again.

Jeff could see the carefully concealed anxiety in Alan's eyes at their being called out onto a rescue, but there wasn't much he as a father could do to curb Alan's anxiety. He had no doubts that he and his sons would be fine on this rescue, but there always was that nagging voice in the back of his mind telling him to homeschool Alan for the boy's sake as much as for his own sake.

"Call me in the morning before you leave, your brothers wanted to talk to you." Jeff smiled at Alan giving him the silent signal to agree and hang up, before the office changed into Command and Control.

"I will dad. Talk to you tomorrow!" Alan played along, listening as Fermat sent similar wishes to his own dad before they disconnected the call.

As the screen went black, Alan and Fermat both seemed to sag back into their seats. They'd both hoped that a rescue wouldn't interfere with the rare opportunity that both boys got to talk to their fathers while at school. An awkward shuffling sound broke through the shroud of disappointment, drawing Alan and Fermat's attention back to Andrew.

"So, now that you mentioned food Alan…how about we beat the rest of the jackals to the front of the line and see if we can actually get some decent food instead of the scrapings at the bottom of the barrel?" Andrew had a hopeful gleam to his eyes and it was a look both Alan and Fermat were familiar with. Nodding, both Alan and Fermat allowed the stress of knowing of a potential rescue to slide off their backs. It wouldn't do to make themselves sick with worry, they'd all be fine.

"Let's go then!" Alan stood up with Fermat and the three boys walked out of the room, making jabs at each other as they made their way to the canteen.

… … … … … … …

The following morning found the boys eagerly counting down the minutes when they'd be boarding the bus. Just prior to leaving, the boys ran to the canteen to purchase some snacks from the ala carte. The bus took off on time and with their departure, the boys settled in for a long trip. Alan had steadily been drinking one of several drinks he'd purchased and was keeping in his backpack. They'd been on the road for a little over an hour when Mr. Henderson announced that they were going to stop to refuel and have a pit stop before they left the US.

Alan squirmed in his seat on the bus. '_I'm about to burst.'_ Alan chewed on his lip as he tried not to focus on his dire need to relieve himself. It was his fault, he'd been drinking a lot of water and like Fermat and Andrew had warned him he'd had to go…very, very bad.

The rescue the night prior had in all actuality been nothing but a false alarm. The Thunderbirds were dispatched out to aid a supposedly sinking ship and come to find out that some passengers that had had a little too much to drink had called in a fake rescue, just to see if International Rescue would come. They had, and the field commander had been none too polite to the inebriated individuals. He'd given them and the captain a dressing down like you could not believe and then he and his comrades left. Jeff had called just as Alan and Fermat were crawling into their respective beds to let them know the rescue had been a false alarm. Needless to say both boys were able to rest easier that evening.

"Okay boys, you all get 10 minutes to get up, stretch your legs…use the restroom if needed and pick up any snacks before we leave for our destination. I want you all back on the bus in ten minutes." Mr. Henderson stood up to address all the boys on the trip and Alan was practically bouncing in his seat. When given the go ahead, each of the boys filed off the bus. But it was Alan and a select few other boys who made a beeline for the restroom.

Unfortunately, Alan was the last in line to make it into the small single toilet restroom. When it was finally his turn to go, he'd almost cried in relief. Alan hurried into the small room and sighed as he shut the door. Closing his eyes, Alan relaxed his tense shoulders as he felt the urge lessen gradually, he didn't even hear the closed bathroom door open…until an audible click was heard and something made of metal was pressed into his back, just between his shoulder blades.

"You're coming with me." An intimidating voice spoke from behind Alan who'd frozen.

Inhaling softly, Alan tried not to focus on the barrel of a semi-automatic rifle being pressed into his shoulder blades and instead focused on finishing up what he'd been in the middle of doing. It was almost impossible to do, knowing that something so lethal was so close. One would think that when you were scared, it'd be easy, but not Alan.

"Finish up, then we need to get going." The barrel was pushed a little sharper into Alan's shoulder blades and he'd nodded. Doing up the fly to his trousers, Alan asked with a shaky voice.

"Would it be okay if I wash my hands?" Alan held his hands up to show he wasn't going to fight the man that was currently pressing the deadly assault rifle into his back.

"You have thirty seconds." Alan kept his hands held up where the gun-wielding man could see that he was unarmed and wouldn't fight back. Moving over to the sink, Alan went about washing his hands and hitting the distress signal on his watch, before muting any channel that could potentially come through. "Times up, let's go."

Alan took a shaky breath, before being escorted out of the restroom, a firearm being pressed firmly into his back. Alan tried not to notice the few customers and workers in the gas station that were currently sitting bound and gagged on the floor, a gun from one of several men in black combat gear trained on them all. The man escorting Alan paused to talk to the captives.

"To all of you who have witnessed this event today, I just wanted to leave a word of warning. If any of you should involve police in any way, I will put a bullet in each of these boy's heads and you will have only yourselves to blame for their untimely demise. Starting with this one, standing right in front of you."

Alan's breath caught in his throat as he glimpsed the captive people's faces break. They all wanted so badly to help, but there was absolutely nothing any of them could do. Alan hoped that John was listening and following this man's advice. Alan really didn't feel up to kicking the bucket.

"Come on boy." Alan gave a startled gasp as the barrel of the rifle was pressed into his back again. Continuing to walk, Alan hoped and prayed that this wouldn't be his final trip.

As Alan was directed to walk in front of his kidnapper, he lifted his gaze to look at the bus he was riding on. The large white vehicle was surrounded by men in black combat gear, each of them holding an assault rifle and each of them with a boy from his class kneeling on the ground in front them. Alan glimpsed Fermat and Andrew, they were both kneeling side by side, their hands clasped behind the back of their heads and both boys were squeezing their eyes shut. Alan didn't blame them.

"Attention boys. When I give the word, you all will get on the bus, like nothing happened. You will each take your seat, and then we will begin our journey. Any word of argument will result in punishment. If you doubt we'll do anything to you, try us and we'll demonstrate on one of your classmates. Do I make myself clear?" The man that spoke was the one that had his rifle trained on Alan, who'd remained standing. When none of the boys spoke for fear of it resulting in their death or punishment, the man that previously spoke barked out a reply. "I said…Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"

Each boy echoed a response of yes sir, before they were all roughly grabbed by their captors and herded onto the bus like sheep. Before Alan was allowed to board the bus, the chaperones followed by Mr. Henderson were forced onto the bus. Alan was one of the last to board the bus as he was being used as collateral to ensure the students and chaperones cooperation. A new bus driver that Alan didn't recognize closed the door of the bus and started the engine, before driving off.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

John was roused from his book that he'd buried his nose into when a shrill beep sounded through the space station. Raising his head, John moved from the small kitchen table where he'd been sitting, into the control room where all the computers and monitors were situated. Entering a code into his computer, John activated the link to the systems. His face paled when the computer revealed the shrill beep to be the distress signal that had been integrated into their comm. watches.

"Alan, is everything okay?" John activated the link that would connect him to Alan's watch and consequentially connect him with his baby brother. Alan never replied, instead a voice that answered made John's blood run cold.

_"To all of you who have witnessed this event today, I just wanted to leave a word of warning. If any of you should involve police in any way, I will put a bullet in each of these boy's heads and you will have only yourselves to blame for their untimely demise. Starting with this one, standing right in front of you."_

John thought his heart had stopped. The voice was so unfamiliar, but what the man had said was what made John's blood run cold. It was clear from the transmission that the 'one standing right in front of you' was his baby brother. Breaking out into a cold sweat, John continued to listen to the transmission, wanting to ensure that what he was hearing was true and not some brilliant strategy on his brother's part to give him a heart attack.

_ "Come on boy."_ The sharp gasp following those words made John bite his tongue. Glancing down at his computers, John could see that Alan had muted the relay that would give him the ability to talk to his brother. Alan wanted him to listen, and not get caught.

The only sound that was heard for several minutes was Alan's shaky breathing. It was again made perfectly clear to John that his baby brother was close to having a panic attack, he was hyperventilating, and he needed to calm down, before he either passed out or got him or someone else hurt. The shuffling footsteps stopped, and Alan gave a muffled cry, before he was silenced.

_"Attention boys. When I give the word, you all will get on the bus, like nothing happened. You will each take your seat, and then we will begin our journey. Any word of argument will result in punishment. If you doubt, we'll do anything to you, try us and we'll demonstrate on one of your classmates. Do I make myself clear?"_ John was so happy that Brains had designed Thunderbird Five to automatically record any and all transmissions for documentation purposes. There was no way that he could explain all of this to his family, not without hyperventilating himself. _"I said…Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"_

'_**Come on Alan…speak up!**__'_ John pleaded silently with his baby brother to speak up, if only to preserve his life a little bit longer. The multitudes of voices that replied with "yes sir" was what made John give a gasp in relief. He'd been able to pick out Fermat's stuttering voice and Alan's voice in the crowd of boys agreeing to cooperate with the man who was doing this to them.

A rumble was heard as the bus was engaged. John listened to the transmission for several minutes more, before deciding he'd better notify his father of the recent events. Alan, Fermat and the rest of the boys were in terrible danger, but John was not aware of how much danger. He didn't know just how dire the situation was.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Alan focused on the road outside the windshield of the bus. It was night time now. Surely news of the bus and its occupants being taken hostage for whatever reason would have reached the school and the parents of the boys involved. They'd been stuck on the bus for more than six hours and Alan was really wishing for a pit stop. Not only was he feeling sick to his stomach, one from lack of food…but stress. But he had to go to the restroom again. The man that had captured Alan in the restroom had kept his rifle trained on Alan and that didn't make him feel any more comfortable.

Alan had no way of knowing just where they were going, all he knew was that they had in fact entered Canada and it hadn't been through any checkpoints. The bus they had been on was abandoned several hours ago, it left too much of a trail. Reflecting on it now, it had been probably one of the most terrifying ordeals to date.

'_The bus pulled out of the gas station parking lot and started driving. Everyone remained silent, fear and trepidation acting as the masks the boys wore. All eyes were kept on Alan near the front of the bus, because he was the sole occupant on the bus that had a semi-automatic rifle being pressed into his back._

_ Their captors hadn't bothered to ask them their names, instead focusing on calling them boy or maggot. Exhaling a shaky breath, Alan watched as the bus driver changed the exit. Now instead of taking the exit that would take them into the Canadian provinces via Interstate 91, they were headed down US Route 7._

_ The bus drove for another hour, before it pulled off onto an almost unused access road and was practically shrouded in darkness from the trees that swallowed them into the gloom. The man that had Alan stood up, grabbing Alan by his upper arm none too gently and ordering each of the boys to exit the bus and put their hands behind their head and walk forward, following the small army of men lined up outside._

_ As Fermat and Andrew walked past Alan, they both showed their barely concealed fear to the slightly older boy. He didn't mask the fear he felt either. He hoped that whatever these men wanted, they get it without any of them being badly hurt or worse. Alan was soon prompted forward by a jab into his spine by the barrel of the gun._

_ "Walk." Alan heeded the man's order and began to follow the group of boys walking in front of him. He too put his hands behind his head and walked with his head down. They'd all walked in a single file line into the dark depths of the forest until they came upon a second bus._

_ Following the man's command, each boy climbed on board of the bus and moved to a vacant seat. Alan remained with the main man who'd set the ball rolling and sat in the front of the bus. Alan however didn't know whether he should tell the man that he got car sick or not, instead focusing on paying attention to his surroundings.'_

It was several hours later that he wished to inform his captor of his uneasy stomach when riding in the front seat of a bus. Seeing the moving road in front of him made Alan dizzy and it was that that made him nauseous. There was a reason why he preferred sitting directly in the middle of the bus, it calmed his tendency to get car sick. Clamping his mouth shut against the rising nausea, Alan prayed that an intervention of some kind would occur. He so didn't want to get sick right now, let alone on an unfamiliar bus with a bunch of gun wielding wackos.

"Um, sir…could you please stop the bus?" Alan's voice was small and quiet.

No reply came and Alan felt even sicker. Bending over, Alan pressed his head between his knees to calm his roiling stomach. It wasn't working. Alan clapped a hand over his mouth and before he knew it the bus was coming to a stop and the man with the gun was hauling Alan off the bus practically by the scruff of his neck.

"Get it over with." The man growled as he pushed Alan onto his knees in the grass just off the side of the road and turned his back to the boy while he surrendered the contents of his stomach. When Alan finished, he was again hauled up off the ground and dragged back onto the bus by the gun wielding lunatic. "Sit down and shut up!"

Alan swallowed thickly and kept his head down. The bus continued moving and against his better wishes, Alan like all the other boys sank into a fitful sleep.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Jeff and his sons listened to the transmission that Alan was still relaying, wincing as they heard the youngest Tracy retching from the motion sickness that he sometimes experienced. That was one thing Jeff had never been able to figure out. Alan could ride in a car, plane, bus or train and not experience any nausea…unless he looked directly at the scenery whizzing past the window.

"Poor kid, can't he catch a break?" Gordon inquired sympathetically from where he sat on one of the couches in the lounge. All the brothers knew how badly Alan felt after experiencing bouts of motion sickness, but currently there wasn't anything they could do to help. All they could do was listen as Alan and the other boys were threatened and driven to God only knows where.

"What can we possibly do?" Virgil had his hands clasped together and pressed against his mouth as he listened to the transmission. Leaning forward so his elbows rested on his knees, Virgil tried to figure out just who could possibly want to hurt a child.

"Nothing. We can't do anything Virge. You heard what that man said when Alan and the group was first captured…if the police get involved they'll start systematically killing off the students…starting with Alan." Scott stood behind his dad's desk, staring at the screen that showed a simple decibel monitor.

It showed any time noise was made and it recorded anything and everything. John was currently working magic from up in Thunderbird Five and removing any and all background noise and interference so that everything including whispers where picked up. They were listening to a chorus of soft snores coming from the group of boys that had fallen asleep, but that had soon been replaced with sounds of Alan struggling to contain his sick. So far, not one of the boys knew where they were being taken. That in itself was nerve wracking, because neither of the boys could activate the tracking beacon in their boots without being caught.


	2. Into The Woods

_**A/N: Here is the second chapter of Fight For Survival. It's a little longer than the last chapter, but hopefully you'll all enjoy it just the same. This chapter does cover medical topics, but keep in mind that I'm a former med student not a professional doctor. Reviews greatly appreciated but please no flames or discouraging remarks. I'm a novice writer who like a lot of you is just writing for the fun of it. **_

_**On to the story my friends,**_

_**Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010**_

* * *

Alan was shook awake by the man that had started this whole mess. When Alan opened his eyes, he nearly cried aloud when he saw the teacher Mr. Henderson kneeling on the ground outside the bus. They were on another access road, only the difference this time was that there was a large black vehicle parked in the middle of the road and there were members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police blocking the way of the bus.

"Come on, you're our ticket out of here." The man grabbed Alan by the undersides of his arms and hauled him off the bus.

Alan struggled a little. He didn't want to be separated from his friends. He wouldn't be able to help them if he was gone. Turning to look behind him, he saw Fermat and Andrew both with tears glistening in their eyes. They knew that what was about to happen, was not good. Alan was escorted off the bus, the semi-automatic rifle continually pressed into his back.

"Hello gentlemen…there a problem here?" The man who had yet to identify himself spoke again from behind Alan.

From behind one of the Mounties, out stepped a member of the secret service keeping his gun trained on the man directly behind Alan. Alan was in firing range, and now he was staring down the barrel of a gun while he had a second one nestled quite uncomfortably into his shoulder.

"Yes, there is a problem. The problem is that you have hijacked a bus full of students and you have quite the track record." The secret service member kept his gun trained on the man behind the student. "Let the boy go, and surrender."

"Now, now…you know I can't do that." The man moved in a flash and had Alan kneeling on the ground, the rifle now moved to press into the base of Alan's skull. "Make one wrong move and this boy is pushing up daisies."

"Don't do it." The secret service member spoke sharply to the main kidnapper. "It doesn't have to come to this."

"Oh? Doesn't it?" The man signaled something and suddenly one of the other men who'd been riding on the bus with the captives yelled something onto the bus, before each of the captive boys walked solemnly out in single file. Alan couldn't hear what he said around the sound of his heartbeat filling his ears. "Tell you what, I hand over all these boys in exchange for…these three" The man turned and pointed out Matthew, Jared and Alan.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. I need all the boys, unharmed. Surrender now!" The head secret service member said as he kept his handgun trained on the man standing directly behind Alan.

"Fine…have it your way." Jacobs removed the gun from the base of Alan's skull, then with the nod of his head, all hell broke loose.

The group of boys that had been pointed out by the man – were grabbed by other men with guns and they were each dragged off into the woods by their own 'guard' if you could call them that. The remaining boys that hadn't been taken; scattered away from each of the men in black attack uniforms. Several of the boys ducked down behind the bus when shots were fired. Fermat and Andrew crawled just behind one of the buses' back tires in order to avoid the whizzing bullets flying past them.

"I want to go home!" Fermat and Andrew huddled together until the gunfire silenced.

Nobody made a sound. Once the gunfire ceased, several Canadian police walked with their weapons at the ready, checking the bodies of numerous men that had fallen. Officers fanned out, many going into the forest on foot to attempt to track the three men and their captives. Those that stayed behind went to the aid of the remaining boys and their chaperones.

An officer stepped around the back of the bus, discovering Fermat, Andrew and a few other boys that huddled behind the other tire. He motioned to each of the boys to follow him and he led the group of five boys back to the lineup of vehicles. Fermat and Andrew squeezed into the backseat with two other boys while the fifth boy was allowed into the front seat before the officer climbed into the front seat to drive them to the department. Meanwhile his comrades were busy doing the same as well as offering aid to a few of the students and teachers left behind in the wake of all the chaos.

All the boys stayed quiet as they watched the scenery go by. None of them dared to speak of the fate of their classmates that had been dragged away into the forest. Fermat turned his gaze out the window, and he couldn't help but to wonder if Alan was going to be okay.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Alan, Matthew and Jared however were dragged deeper into the forest. Alan in particular was struggling to keep up. Pressing a hand against his side, Alan groaned quietly as he glimpsed down to see blood staining his hands. Despite being dragged into the forest just before the volley of shots were fired, a stray bullet had followed Alan and struck his right side. It had been a clear shot.

Biting his lip, Alan continued to run with the other boys that were taken captive with him.

'_Please dear God, someone help us.'_

They ran for what felt like a lifetime, one of the kidnappers pulling Alan by his outstretched arm. When they did eventually stop, it was almost sunset. Alan, Jared and Matthew were panting deeply. Matthew coughed before he collapsed onto his knees. Alan staggered where he stood, but he stayed upright by sheer willpower alone. Jared looked around their surroundings, spotting a ramshackle cabin not much further away.

The three men in black tactical armor forced the three boys into the cabin that Jared previously spotted. They unceremoniously shoved Alan, Jared and Matthew into the cabin and dumped their rucksacks just inside the threshold.

"Stay here and be quiet. I don't care what boss says, but if you make a peep, you're dead." One of the men said before slamming the door and leaving the area, presumably to get into position to shoot anyone who came close to their hideout.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Gordon chewed on his thumbnail as he listened to the transmission that had never quit playing. Scott had managed to drag their dad from the lounge, and Virgil soon followed barely keeping his eyes open. Gordon however demanded that he take the first shift. John and Gordon were both the sole brothers at present listening to Alan's even breathing while he slept.

Turning his head to the left, Gordon caught John's eye through the monitor and both brothers shared a look as they heard the engine of the bus that Alan and Fermat were being held captive on disengage, before the hydraulic braking system made a loud hiss noise.

"What do you think is going on John?" Gordon glanced over at his brother. John's blue eyes while currently looking as cold as ice, were looking increasingly worried.

"_Dammit!"_ John and Gordon's breath caught in their throats as they heard the man who'd kidnapped Alan at gunpoint swear. "_Come on you are our ticket out of here."_

"John?" Gordon's voice cut off as he heard his only little brother's protests, the scuffling feet signifying that Alan was struggling against his captor.

"I know Gordo…I'm scared too." John didn't even need to hear the words from Gordon's mouth to know he was scared. There was virtually nothing they could do right now. International Rescue, while a rescue organization didn't meddle in kidnapping and hostage situations. Right now, the Tracy family was doing all they could…hopefully it would be enough. Words were traded between another man, one seemingly trying to help the boys while the other continued to claim the boys he'd kidnapped.

It wasn't until gunfire was heard echoing around inside the lounge that John and Gordon both thought their hearts would stop right then. Jeff, Scott and Virgil heard the pop of gunfire from their individual bedrooms and raced into the lounge.

What they found gave them no comfort. Gordon was sitting at his father's desk, a hand clamped over his mouth and eyes wide. Gordon's shoulders shook, before he took a shuddering breath. John was no better. Both brothers were dead pale.

"What was that?" Virgil inquired looking between his older and younger brothers.

"A gun fight." John murmured, his voice shaking as he answered.

"Between who?" Jeff stalked forward towards the desk where Gordon was sitting; looking into John's eyes as he knew Gordon seemed too shook up to say anything.

"Police I think…I don't know yet." John barely managed to say before seeing Gordon on the verge of panic. "Gordon, he'll be fine. He's strong. He's a Tracy."

"Yeah, a Tracy with a bullet hole in him!" Gordon shot back before burying his head in his hands as he struggled to compose himself. This was his only little brother they were talking about. He was only a kid and he'd just been shot. Gordon and John both just listened as he cried out in pain. They'd heard something make a '_thwack'_ sound right around the time that Alan gave a cry.

"Alan was shot?" Virgil whispered, disbelief the only thing that could be heard in his tone.

"Yeah…and he was separated from the other hostages. Two other boys and Alan were taken away when the men opened fire." John managed to bring his voice under control just enough to not stammer. "Hopefully Alan can get a chance to activate his tracker so we can pinpoint his location."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Alan lay on the ground, one hand pressed against his side trying to stem the blood flow. He, Jared and Matthew managed to escape from their captors after Jared crushed up several acetaminophen tablets and spiked the vodka flasks that the men moronically left behind while they'd gone out. It hadn't taken no time at all for the crushed Tylenols to send the three gun wielding men off into the land of nod, giving the three captive boys the chance they needed to run, or in Alan's case…limp painfully.

"Do you have the tape?" Matthew, always the one prepared…he'd snagged one of the backpacks that one of their captors was carrying and it just happened to be carrying a first aid kit inside. Now, with the boys having holed up inside a small hollow beneath a group of trees, they'd finally decided now was as good a time as any to try to stop the actively bleeding gunshot wound.

"Here…Tracy, you need to hold that gauze there. Try not to move." Jared moved his hand to press against Alan's when his hand began to slip from the blood soaked gauze pad. "God, we need to get help…you're still bleeding too much."

"Don't even think about leaving me here…I don't want to be found, at least if I'm with you guys I know we have a chance of getting back to our families." They were only about eight miles give or take from the camp the gunmen had set up. They could still find Alan if he was left in the hollow. They'd been walking for hours.

"If you come with us, then we need to get your bleeding to stop. I noticed you leaving a trail earlier." Jared replied, pressing down on the bullet wound in Alan's side even as Alan mewled in pain. "Dammit, why won't it stop?"

"Gunshots to the torso, chest and b-back are the most difficult t-to control the bleeding." Alan stammered out as he grit his teeth from the pain. He was growing weak and Alan knew he was going into shock. "Just do what you c-can…we need to g-get moving."

"If we move you too much it could kill you if you bleed out." Matthew handed Jared another pad of gauze to press against the wound.

"T-To be honest…I'd r-rather die r-running for my l-life than get c-caught and shot a-again." Alan gave Matthew and Jared a look that told them he was scared.

Both boys stared at Alan, silently agreeing with him. They too would rather escape or die trying; at least then their families would know that they had fought till the very end.

"Matthew…can you hand me your t-shirt? We need to try to stop this bleeding so we can get a move on. It's getting close to daylight and I want to be on the move again before they manage to follow the trail of blood that I know Alan left." Jared shined the flashlight on Alan's torso, following the trail of blood that had gradually soaked into Alan's jeans. "I didn't know there was this much blood in a person's body."

"Y-You'd be s-surprised…" Alan's breathing picked up, the shivering only getting worse despite the bucket loads of sweat he was overflowing with.

"Alan…talk to me buddy. Don't go to sleep." Matthew reached up and patted Alan's cheek. "We need to sit him up so we can tape the bandages to him. Give me a hand."

Together Matthew and Jared pulled Alan up to a sitting position and Jared supported Alan against his knee. Maintaining the constant pressure to the bullet wound, Jared followed Matthew's promptings to move his hand when it came time to tape over a bit of the makeshift bandage.

"There, that's about as good as we can do. Now, we need to get moving." Matthew stared at his and Jared's hands to see a thin coating of blood, but shrugged it off. "Alright Alan…you ready to move?"

"Y-Y-Y-Yes…" Alan's shivering picked up and Matthew stared at Alan's increasingly grey shaded face.

"Let's go, I want to try to find a highway so we can get Alan some emergency help. He isn't looking too good." Matthew looked around and picked up a canteen that he'd brought with him primarily to keep Alan hydrated. They were close to a stream. "Hang tight for a minute Al. I'm just gonna go refill the canteen."

"Fi-ne." Alan coughed weakly, before groaning. That hurt…a lot.

"Jared, why don't you come with and wash your hands." Matthew stared at Jared's hands that were coated in Alan's blood and noticed the boy's pale features. Matthew knew Jared was a tad bit squeamish, but he'd held in his cookies and helped to stabilize Alan. Jared nodded and stood up, following his friend out shakily.

Once Alan was alone, he spoke just loud enough for his watch to pick up his voice, but not loud enough for anyone outside the hollow to hear.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

_ "I…I don't k-know if y-y-you guys can h-hear me…but…I l-love you. T-Trust me when I s-say…I am h-hanging on as b-best as I can. M-M-Matthew and J-Jared have d-done everything t-they can to h-help me…i-if I don't m-make it…I j-just wanted y-you all t-to know that I l-love you all w-with all my…h-heart.'_

The Tracy family listened to the transmission, and they all struggled to contain their tears at Alan's words of farewell. Despite knowing that Alan is trying his absolute hardest to hold on, he couldn't fight the laws of nature if he bled out from the gunshot wound. It was now life or death for Alan and he had to rely on two boys not much older than him to help him medically or to help guide him from wherever they were.

"There has to be something that we can do…we are International Rescue damn it! There has to be something that we can do to get a message to Alan that we are coming and that we will find him." Virgil carded his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Virgil…I know how frustrating it is to only be able to listen and not communicate with Alan when he is in dire need of help, but International Rescue does not interfere with kidnappings. Alan is my son, and it is killing me right now to only be able to listen to his pain, but there isn't much we can do." Jeff buried his head into his hands as he spoke vehemently to Virgil.

"There has to be something! Something we have not thought of doing to search for Alan." Virgil waved his arms about while he paced back and forth in the lounge. A dull '_thunk_' noise drew everyone's attention to the monitor where John could be seen and the elder blonde had dropped his head down on his work table.

"Everything all right up there John?" Gordon inquired in confusion.

"Yeah, everything is all just hunky dory. "John mumbled from where his head was lying on his worktable. "I just remembered that I could trace Alan via his watch, and I feel foolish for not having thought of it sooner is all."

"Then what are you waiting for John?" Scott pressed his hands against the desk and shot daggers at his immediate younger blonde brother.

"I need Alan to disconnect the transmission with us…the signal is interfering otherwise." John lifted his head from his work table before dropping it back down to the metal with another dull '_thunk_' sound. "But I'm afraid that we'd give Alan's connection to the Thunderbirds away to those two boys if I try to call him via his watch after I've traced his location."

"Can't you call his satellite phone? That should work anywhere, including deep in the mountains of Canada!" Gordon exclaimed having had his first 'light bulb' moment in several hours since this whole thing went down.

"I tried it already…it's not connecting. It was either hit with the bullet that Alan was shot with or something else is interfering with it. I'd wager it was hit with the bullet." John murmured as he lifted his head from the work table just to drop it back down again.

"But that can't be…Alan was shot in the side. If the shot hit Alan's phone too then that would mean Alan was shot somewhere near his chest, because he doesn't wear his pants like Urkle." Virgil pointed out, but he'd received blank stares from his father and brothers.

"Who is Urkle?" Gordon gave Virgil a look of bewilderment.

"Urkle is a fictional TV character…a music teacher at my old high school always would say Urkle up when we'd do pre-chorale stretches…he was referencing that everyone should pull their pants up before doing toe touches. It got to be a joke with him that we should all wear suspenders to class so he wouldn't have to say Urkle up." Virgil explained, glaring at his brothers when for the first time in a while a smile broke out on their faces. "I'll explain more later…but unless Alan was wearing his pants up over his navel, then his phone should be fine."

"It was supposed to rain yesterday, perhaps his phone was in his jacket pocket. That would put it in the general location of the gunshot wound." Scott pointed out. "John, if you can't call him, what are the chances that you could track using the GPS…does it need to be active to be traced?"

As if he'd been hit with lightening, John lifted his head from his work table, eyes wide and a look of awe replacing his previously hopeless features. "I think you may be on to something Scott. Hang tight, I'm going to see if I can trace Al's phone."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Alan leaned heavily against Jared who was practically supporting all of Alan's weight. Matthew had one of Alan's arms draped over his own shoulder to try to keep Alan up on two feet. They'd since drank all the water that Matthew collected from the stream and Alan was fading.

"God dammit." Jared groaned. "Let's stop and take a break. I'm tired."

"Let's take five…you still with us Alan?" Matthew helped Jared ease Alan against the trunk of a tree. Alan's breathing was shallow and for a moment, Matthew thought that Alan died, but the younger boy painstakingly opened his eyes, which were glazed over with pain.

"Y-Y-Y…" Alan couldn't even finish a sentence. His words were slurred and his eyes were unfocused.

"Come on Tracy…talk to me, don't go to sleep." Matthew leaned forward and slapped Alan's cheek with a little more force than was necessary.

"Dad…want…dad." Alan's head lolled to the side as he managed to say what was on his mind. His tongue felt swollen and he felt hot all over.

"Keep hanging on Al. When we get to the hospital…you can see your dad. He'll be the first one there for you." Jared encouraged, trying to make Alan perk up.

"Won…mak…it. Sleepy." Alan's eyelids fluttered, but Matthew was quick to slap Alan hard across the face again.

"Don't you dare give up Alan!" Matthew got up close and personal like a drill sergeant and spoke harshly to Alan in order to gain his attention. "Hang on for your father's sake…don't die. You got this far, you can't give up now!"

"Not…try…ing…to." Alan replied pitifully.

"Don't we have anything in that backpack you lifted from those guys that could help Alan?" Jared inquired as he held Alan up against the tree.

"No…there's a tarp, a small hand saw, a first aid kit and energy bars. I doubt that anything in here will help Alan." Matthew removed everything from the backpack so that Jared could see he wasn't lying.

Jared remained silent as he looked at everything that they had from that backpack. The tarp was probably meant to dispose of their bodies but the words of his uncle came back to him in a flash. Jared glanced around at the trees.

"Matthew…hand me that saw and come hold up Alan." Jared motioned hurriedly for Matthew to come to him. "I've got an idea!"

Matthew picked up the saw and moved over to Jared, grasping Alan's shoulders in order to keep him upright. "What are you doing?"

"If we get out of this alive…remind me to call my uncle and thank him!" Jared gave no further explanation as he ran off into a grove of maple trees. Looking around, Jared found a couple trees that seemed like they'd be easy to hold…not too thick and they were long. "Boo-yah…"

Matthew continued patting Alan's cheek, sometimes slapping or back handing him to keep him awake. The blonde Tracy was incredibly ashen. Jared had been gone for more than several minutes and a grunt in the trees had Matthew preparing to fight whoever was coming from the grove. He'd protect Alan at all costs…like Alan had said a while ago. He'd rather die running than to roll over and be killed without a fight. However, what Matthew saw had the boy doing a fish impression.

"What the hell?" Matthew looked on as Jared dragged two poles of equal length into the clearing where they'd stopped to rest. "Have you lost your ever-loving mind?"

"Nope, my uncle did." Jared dragged the two trees close to where Alan sat propped up against the tree. "Hand me that tarp."

Matthew did as Jared said but couldn't even begin to fathom what it was that Jared was doing. It wasn't until Jared had finished what he was doing that it finally clicked.

"You're a genius! Where'd you get the idea to make a stretcher?" Matthew's smile was widespread as he practically hugged his younger friend.

"My uncle…he'd showed me and my cousin how to make tools back when we used to go camping all the time. This was one of the pearls of wisdom he'd passed on to us." Jared stood up, hands on his hips as he gazed down at the stretcher he'd fashioned out of two thin maple poles and a tarp. "Help me get Alan onto it…carefully. Don't lift it until I say so."

"Yeah…" Matthew patted Alan's cheek again before managing to get the younger blonde to open his heavy eyes. "Al…hold still, Jare and I are going to move you…but don't go to sleep."

"O-kay." Alan slurred as his body became weightless for a few moments.

Once Jared and Matthew got Alan situated on the stretcher, both boys took a moment to breath before they gathered all the supplies previously removed from the backpack. They had rested long enough and it wouldn't do to waste what was left of the daylight.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Got a lock on their location!" John crowed excitedly. "They aren't very far from a major highway."

Gordon who'd leaned in close to the speaker in order to listen to the transmission on his father's computer shushed his father and brothers. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You guys! They figured out a way to better transport Al."

"How?!"

"Spit it out!"

"Tell us!"

"Don't keep us in the dark!" Gordon held up a hand to stop his brothers and father's words so he could speak up.

"One of the boys apparently had some knowledge on how to build a stretcher. They've got Alan loaded onto it and are moving out." Gordon couldn't wipe the smile from his face if he tried.

Jeff closed his eyes and turned so his back was facing his boys. He didn't know how much longer he could take knowing his son was gravely injured and he was practically sitting on his hands doing nothing.

If anyone else were in Jeff's shoes right now, being both the commander of International Rescue and father to one of the kidnapped boys, he knows they probably wouldn't hesitate to blow their cover and be there in a hot minute to pick up Alan and the other boys. But Jeff wasn't like other parents. He'd worked too hard to honor Lucy's memory, worked too hard to make a difference so other families wouldn't have to suffer the same fate as his family.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Jared and Matthew kept up a dialogue trying to engage Alan even as he was fading. They carried the stretcher Jared built and they navigated around the tricky terrain. Alan's breathing had grown labored, scaring both boys every time they failed to hear Alan give a shaky exhale.

"Come on Alan, you've got this. I know it's hard but you've got to keep holding on." Matthew said, encouraging Alan to not give up.

"M s-scared." Alan mumbled softly before giving a cough followed by a small mewl of pain. "P-Please…p-please don't…don't l-let me die."

Alan begged, making Jared and Matthew falter to a stop when it became apparent that Alan had begun to cry. Carefully setting down the stretcher, both boys checked Alan over to make sure he'd be okay. Night was on the cusp of falling and though the boys were lost and scared, they were hesitant to fire a flare for fear of revealing their location to the men that had kidnapped them. They weren't aware that the men had been followed, having used search dogs to locate them by police and FBI and had been arrested. As it turned out, Alan being shot and leaving a small trail of blood led authorities to the hide out.

"We won't let you die Alan, but you've got to do everything in your power to not die or go to sleep. We're trying to get you to safety, but we're not sure where we're at." Matthew said hoping that Alan could keep fighting.

"P-Pocket." Alan whispered before letting his head flop to the side. "S-Sat p-phone."

"What?" Jared asked as he tried to decipher Alan's slurred statement. "Did you just say sat phone? You have a satellite phone?"

Jared leaned over Alan and gently patted Alan's pockets before he felt a hard lump in Alan's jacket pocket, the side that had been shot. He pulled out the device and groaned when he saw a hole going clean through the satellite phone. It was apparent that it'd absorbed most of the damage when Alan had been shot and that explained why Alan seemed to be going downhill so fast. If the bullet had gone through the phone, it'd have had a shrapnel like effect when it exited the phone.

"Damn it…it got hit when you did." Jared said, deflating at the prospect that the hope of possibly contacting help had disappeared.

Alan took as deep a breath as he could manage and exhaled a rattling wheeze.

"T-Tri-angulate." Alan tried to say despite feeling like the ability to breathe was growing worse.

"What?" Jared asked as he looked at the phone, checking if it had a distinctive feature that had been equipped in case of extreme damage.

"Triangulate. I think he's trying to tell you it has a triangulation sequence." Matthew said as he snatched the phone from Jared's hand and shone the flashlight on the phone before locating the button designed to send a ping to the satellites in the area so their coordinates could be located.

"I know we need to keep going, but we're not going to help Alan much if we don't get some rest. I'm starving and my feet are killing me." Matthew said, hoping that Jared would agree to bed down for the night and get back to hiking out when the sun was up so they could see where they were going. It'd do them no good to fall down a hill they couldn't see because they insisted on hiking at night.

"Alright, but one of us needs to stay awake so we can keep an eye on Alan. We'll sleep in shifts." Jared said agreeing with Matthew because he was famished. They'd been hiking for the better part of two days without food, only stopping to drink water when they'd grown too hungry to think clearly. "What time is it?"

Matthew tapped the face of Alan's watch to see the time was just a little after eight at night.

"Quarter past eight." Matthew murmured before he dug into the satchel they'd stolen to retrieve a protein bar. He tore open the packaging and took a healthy bite, groaning in pleasure despite the protein bar being one of the worst things he'd ever eaten. He tossed one to Jared before he looked at Alan and slowed his frenzied chewing.

Alan was probably equally as famished as Matthew felt and he wondered what he could do for Alan. He didn't have the strength to lift his head let alone chew food. He needed food though if he was going to survive this ordeal. He knew he could probably feed Alan a bite of the protein bar but it was clear he would choke because he was weakened by the blood loss.

"Alan, are you hungry?" Matthew asked despite knowing Alan probably wasn't all that hungry. He knew he wouldn't be if he was in Alan's shoes.

Alan slowly shook his head that he wasn't hungry before his stomach answered for him with a growl that told all three that Alan was in fact very hungry.

"M-Maybe a l-little." Alan said before he struggled to open his eyes and look at Matthew. "So, h-hungry."

"Do you think you can take a bite of this protein bar?"

Alan weakly shook his head which prompted Matthew to give pause for a moment as he thought of a solution.

"Okay, what I'm about to do may seem weird, but it's the only choice we've got. You need food." Matthew said before he took a small bite of his protein bar and chewed carefully before he scooted over towards Alan and braced his hands on either side of his head.

"What are you doing?" Jared asked with mild disgust. He could guess what Matthew was about to do, but he hoped he was wrong.

"What do you think?" Matthew asked before he lowered his head and put his mouth over Alan's. It was quick and more than a little disgusting for Matthew but when he came back up he noticed Alan swallowing the pre-chewed food that had been transferred into his mouth.

"That's disgusting!" Jared cried in shock that his friend had just kissed another boy. "You kissed him!"

"No, I didn't, I chewed his food for him." Matthew said before taking another bite and repeating the process. He pointedly chose not to look at Jared every time he'd lower to feed Alan, he remembered his mother doing that with him when he was little. It was gross, but sometimes it was what you had to do.

When the protein bar was gone, Matthew felt his face burning all the way up to his ears. He hoped they made it to a highway or somewhere civilized before he had to do that again.

"Not a word about this to anyone." Matthew said through a growl at Jared who was barely disguising his disgust.

"You don't have to worry about me telling anyone about this, I just hope Alan doesn't remember you feeding him like he was a baby bird." Jared said before he walked over to lean against a tree facing both boys. "You go ahead and go to sleep, I'll keep watch and wake you in a few hours to switch."

"Okay." Matthew said before he settled down beside Alan so he could keep an eye on his breathing. If he was close by he could monitor the other boy if he began to go downhill.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The brothers grimaced when they heard how Matthew had provided food to their baby brother. It's not that they were ungrateful, just that they could have done without the nugget of information that another boy had practically been kissing their little brother. True, they knew it wasn't a bona fide kiss, it was to give Alan food he needn't have to chew…but it was still gross.

"If I ever need my food to be pre-chewed, you have my permission to pull the plug." Gordon said with a frown. "I don't want any of you weirdos kissing me on the mouth to give me food."

"Gordon." John said over the connection with a shake of his head. "That boy wasn't kissing Alan. He's right to have given Alan pre-chewed food. No doubt Alan's probably really weak right now and if he is expected to fight without medical attention, he'd best be getting food through any means possible even if it's pre-chewed."

"Actually, Gordon's not wrong in assuming that other boy was kissing Alan. The act of pre-mastication or kiss-feeding is something still practiced in traditional cultures." Virgil said thoughtfully despite further grossing his brothers out. "Kiss-feeding is thought to be how French kissing evolved because the person giving the food would have to use their tongue to push the food into the mouth of the person they're feeding. Though kiss feeding is typically what a mother or relatives do for an infant that is weaning from breastfeeding or bottles."

At the silence in the room, Virgil looked up from where he was trying to help John figure out how to help the boys without getting International Rescue involved and saw the looks of horror and disgust ranging on each of his brother's faces.

"I don't want to know how you learned that information." Scott said with a shake of his head.

"I read." Virgil said before returning to his previous task. He was glad that that Matthew boy if he was hearing the name right hit the button to triangulate coordinates on the phone because it allowed them to follow the boy's progress through the Canadian wilderness. With Alan on a stretcher, it allowed the two other boys to cross greater distances to reach a major highway.

Already they'd walked almost 30 miles in two days, despite probably being tired, sore and hungry. They had probably another two days in the Canadian wilderness before they reached the highway which if they kept up the same pace would be another 20 miles. The shelter when the boys were taken wasn't that far into the forest though, but when the boys had fled, they didn't know which direction they were going and so had traveled further into the forest than was probably intended. Rather than coming back the way they'd originally entered which would have been the quickest way out of the forest, they'd gone in the completely opposite direction. Having an injured companion probably didn't help matters for a speedy trek in the wilderness, but search parties were underway to locate the three boys and a few of the authorities had set their K-9's on the scent provided by the three boys.

"They'll make it Virgil." Scott said when he noticed how deeply Virgil was thinking. He knew the family medic was bothered by something, little brother being kidnapped and shot notwithstanding.

"I know they will, it's just…Alan's breathing is wrong. He needs urgent medical attention." Virgil said as another breathy rattle echoed through the connection making Virgil grimace.

"We know he needs medical attention Virgil, but what can we do? We shouldn't even have the knowledge we do, but being International Rescue has its advantages."

"Maybe with those gunmen having been arrested, we can get involved now. Their kidnapping has been plastered all over the news, I know we don't typically get involved…but it's already been released that one or all three of the boys may have been shot. If we offer our services we can do a flyover under the guise of using a body heat tracker and go right to their location and pick them up." Virgil said, trying to pressure his dad and older brother into bending to his will.

"Why are you so insistent to get involved. You know IR doesn't partake in kidnapping investigations. If we do it this time, we'll be expected to do it for everyone that gets kidnapped. We'd never sleep." Scott said as he stared hard at his third youngest brother. "Give me one good reason besides Alan being our brother why we should get involved as International Rescue."

Virgil went silent before he stood up and pointed at the speaker which was broadcasting the breathing of the slumbering boys. Alan's breathing in particular was most troublesome considering they could identify the breathing by the speed of it.

"Do you hear that breathing?" Virgil went quiet before Alan's breathing was picked up by the relay system and it sent chills down everybody's spines to know that the almost labored breathing was coming from Alan. "Medically that breathing style is known as Cheyne-Stokes breathing, unprofessionally it's also identified as the death rattle. Alan's not going to make it another night out there, let alone two. Those two boys would have to run from sun up to sun down to reach the highway and even then, jostling Alan could cause the bullet to shift and cause further damage. Alan needs us now."


	3. Rest Little Brother, You're Safe Now

**_A/N: I'm happy to know that folks seem to be enjoying this story. There is one more chapter after this one and then I'll resume work on my currently ongoing stories. _**

**_Please enjoy and keep in mind that reviews are appreciated._**

**_Thank you friends!_**

**_Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010_**

* * *

FBI and police kept at the search through the night, sending a helicopter up with a spot light in hopes of finding the three youngsters lost in the wild. They were burning the night oil, having grown more and more concerned when one of their K-9 units alerted on a trail of blood leading deeper in the trees. The trail of blood was joined by three sets of smaller footprints, one of the tracks providing the clue that at least one of the boys was horribly injured. The scuffing footprints dotted with blood wasn't hard to provide that detail.

The lead agent was exhausted, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed out a yawn. He'd decided to forgo another night of sleep intent to locate those boys. He hadn't felt comfortable crawling into bed until those boys were found, hopefully safe and sound, hopefully alive.

Needless to say, he was more than a little crabby when another agent entered the office to tell him that someone was on the phone waiting to speak with him. He groaned as he asked that the call be transferred to his line and he tried to put on a professional face as the screen on his video phone connected and he was met with the disguised face of the International Rescue Commander. If his jaw dropped it was purely out of shock that he was having the opportunity to converse with the Commander of International Rescue.

"How can I help you sir?" The lead agent asked as he tried to hide his shock.

"Hello Agent, I assume by your reaction that you're more than a little taken by surprise that I'd even be contacting you?" Jeff asked behind his visor which hid his face.

"Yes, I can't comprehend why that'd be." The agent said.

"I was calling to offer to assist you in your search for those three boys. We have specialized equipment meant to search out heat signals of those lost in the rubble of collapsed structures, perhaps we could aid in the search. If you'd accept my offer anyway." Jeff said, hoping the lead agent would accept despite International Rescue making it known they don't typically get involved in shady happenings, but with the kidnappers being apprehended this was simply a rescue mission to save those boys.

"Why would International Rescue want to get involved in a mere kidnapping? You've all made it known you're not to be contacted in the case of a kidnapping." The agent asked in surprise and shock.

"Well, nobody's contacted us. My men and I were watching the news and we know those men that kidnapped those boys are in custody now so it's no longer a kidnapping. At least one of those three boys were shot and he could be dying as we speak. They may all be able to receive the medical attention they require if we're able to help you look for them. If you have five extra hands on deck you may have better luck at finding them alive." Jeff felt nervous as he offered to help search for Alan, Jared and Matthew. He felt a lot more edgy knowing that it was his son that had a potentially fatal wound. And while it wasn't just his son lost out there, it was his son that needed the help of International Rescue. Normally he wouldn't get involved, but it was of the utmost importance that his son and those other two boys be rescued. Time was of the essence and the clock was counting down rapidly.

The agent sighed, knowing the Commander of International Rescue was right. His men and women were tired and the K-9 units were exhausted. The sooner they located those boys the sooner they could get some sleep. If International Rescue could help them, those boys may live to see another day.

"Okay, we'll accept your help. I'll call my helicopters off so you have less interference in the air. Please…find those boys. They deserve at least that much." The lead agent said, hoping International Rescue could find them quickly. If their equipment worked as rumored, those boys may be located before dawn.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Jared woke Matthew and both boys hurried to find shelter when they heard a helicopter flying low overhead. They'd pulled Alan from the hand built stretcher and pulled him beneath the tree boughs. Alan's head rested against Jared's shoulder and the other boy's arm was slung across Alan's chest, feeling the rapid breathing which occasionally slowed to barely existent. Matthew and Jared held their breath as they waited for the helicopter to pass. They'd heard a second helicopter pass and they closed their eyes in fear that they'd been caught by the guys that had taken them, not realizing that the helicopters were there to help.

The spotlight shone through the trees and the three boys held back whimpers, praying they could stay hidden.

When the helicopters did pass and disappear in the distance, Jared and Matthew felt like it was too close a call and decided to head out. They loaded Alan back onto the stretcher and walked using the moon and starlight to pick through the overgrowth. They walked for over an hour before a low rumble flew overhead. The rising panic screamed at them to hide and they did just that, once again hauling Alan off the stretcher to duck down behind a cluster of boulders. Biting their lips, the two boys that were a little worse for wear clamped their eyes closed. The rumble hovered overhead before a spotlight lit up the whole area. A motorized whine started and with it came voices. Or one voice in particular that made the boys almost start crying from relief.

"This is International Rescue, please come out of hiding. We're not going to hurt you."

Jared; feeling the bravest out of the three of them peeked from behind the boulder before he ducked back. The glimpse he got told him it was International Rescue, but what if it was a guise? What if it was the kidnappers playing a cruel joke to capture them again? Jared dug into his pockets and pulled out a pocket knife before he flicked the blade out. If he was going to die, he'd die fighting.

"I know you boys are over there. Why don't you come out? I won't hurt you."

Scott inched closer to the crop of boulders he saw the boys scramble to before the spotlight turned on. He knew they were hiding, knew it was self-preservation that was making them hide. He was hoping Alan would speak up but knew he was too weak, too injured to do much more than lay about like a ragdoll, what he didn't expect was that another boy stood up and was pointing a blade at him.

"Put the blade down…I'm not going to hurt you." Scott said, holding his hands out to show he didn't have a weapon to fight with.

"No! You're with them! I don't know what you want with us, but we won't go!" Jared said, voice shaking as he brandished the weapon. Scott continued to hold up his hands, proving he meant no harm and repeated that he was with International Rescue. "I don't care who you're with. You come any closer and you'll have a blade in your gut."

"Put down your weapon, please. I don't want to hurt you, I want to help you." Scott said as he took a step closer. He knew the boy would likely try to attack him, but he was ready for it. He was trained in close quarters combat and he knew how to disarm without causing the other boy harm. He waited for Jared to swipe out at him with the blade before he grabbed his arm and swung him around and pressed him into the ground, kneeling with one knee in his back. Once Jared had been subdued, Scott called for Virgil to come out of hiding.

"Go help the other two." Scott hated to restrain Jared, but until the other boy quit fighting he would have no choice. He fastened a set of cuffs on Jared's wrists before escorting him into Thunderbird Two and getting him situated. Nodding at Gordon, he left the second youngest to venture out and help Virgil with the other two boys.

… … … … … … … … … … …

Virgil set his field kit down beside the two boys hiding behind the boulders. He turned on his headlamp so he could see what he was doing as he set out to start an IV for Alan. His baby brother was ashen, and waxy looking. Grabbing one of Alan's hands, he tried to find a vein before checking the other hand. When he couldn't find a good vein in either hand, Virgil grabbed a strip of rubber as well as a pair of rubber gloves which he put on from his field kit and tied off Alan's arm. He manually squeezed Alan's hand into a fist several times until he found a vein. He gave the vein a flick to make the vein bulge a little so he could insert the needle easier. He worked quickly, settling the needle and squeezing the saline bag to start the drip. He was thankful when Gordon joined him, and he handed the bag to his younger brother before picking Alan up. He disregarded the makeshift stretcher and he didn't care to notice if Gordon brought one with him. With his baby brother settled in his arms, head on his chest made Virgil feel the slightest bit of relief. Matthew followed along mutedly as Virgil carried Alan into Thunderbird Two.

When the three boys were inside the sick bay, Virgil sent Scott back to go retrieve his field kit where it'd been abandoned. When his field kit was back in his possession, Virgil dug through the contents to retrieve his tools. He cut Alan's shirt open, hissing as he had to wet the fabric to ease it off the gunshot wound. Once he could see the damage, he knew Alan was stronger than he often gave him credit for. He could see plastic imbedded in Alan's skin, could see the gunshot wound left a neat little round hole, though there was no exit wound that he could see. Though, just because he couldn't see it didn't necessarily mean it wasn't there.

Virgil wasn't a doctor so he knew he couldn't begin removing any of the debris from Alan's wounds. The best he could do while they transferred the boys to the hospital was to treat the superficial wounds. He looked over his baby brother with a careful eye, taking note of the various scrapes and bruises littering his body. He turned to Matthew and Jared, removing the handcuffed boy from his restraints before focusing on their wounds.

"Just help Alan, he needs it more than I do." Matthew murmured as he pointed at the unconscious boy lying beside him.

"I can only do so much. Your friend needs surgery." It killed Virgil to refer to his brother as just Matthew's friend.

"But he needs help, he keeps breathing weird." Matthew commented pointing at Alan when he started inhaling fast before slowing to almost non-existent.

"Damn it." Virgil said before he hurried across the sickbay to grab an oxygen mask before setting up the mask and slipping the elastic band across Alan's head. He turned on the oxygen and noticed Alan's breathing speed up and slow to normal like it'd been earlier. "How long has he been doing that?"

"Since last night." Jared replied morbidly. "We haven't been able to help him get control of it. He's not gonna die, is he?"

"Not if I can help it." Virgil said as he tried to return his attention to the matter at hand instead of his internal fear that his little brother may not survive this.

After several minutes of Alan being on oxygen, Virgil who'd gone back to helping the other two boys care for their wounds heard a weak groan. He looked up and his eyes were automatically drawn to his baby brother whom he'd practically scrambled to. He stood beside Alan's bed and looked down while the other two boys knelt by the edge of the bed. And even though he knew very well who Alan was, he turned to one of the other boys and asked one of them for Alan's name.

"It's Alan." Jared said as he gently shook Alan's arm to try to wake him up.

"Alan, can you hear me?" Virgil asked as he tried to stir Alan enough to know how he was feeling. Though judging on the pallor, the kid was probably feeling like someone dropped a military tank on him.

Alan groaned again and the mask fogged up when Alan exhaled sharply as if he were coughing. Virgil continued trying to rouse Alan until he was graced with a pair of dull and unfocused blue eyes opening to look at him if not more than a little dazed.

"V-Virg…V-V…" Alan tried to say though it was clear that he was too weak to really speak up any louder than a whisper.

"What? Alan, I need you to speak up." Virgil said as he lightly patted Alan's cheek.

"V-Virg-gil…" Alan mumbled before he lost consciousness.

"Virgil?" Matthew asked under his breath before Jared spoke up.

"One of Alan's brothers, I think he wants his family." Jared said, looking at Virgil closely.

"Right after we procured you boys, one of my teammates contacted the FBI to let them know that we got you." Virgil said feeling a part of himself dying inside as he had to continue this charade. "Please continue talking to him. It'll keep him with us."

Matthew and Jared both sat close by. Jared sat on the floor beside Alan's gurney while Matthew sat by Alan's feet, watching his chest moving with slow rhythm. Alan's movements were minimal, he'd groan or whimper occasionally and when he'd make a small noise Jared or Matthew both would perk up and pay close attention to their injured classmate. Virgil stayed close also, he'd trusted Gordon to pilot Thunderbird 2 while his attention was occupied elsewhere. Scott came down also when Virgil asked him to come help with monitoring Alan's care while he was focusing on tending to all three boys.

When Scott did go back up to the catwalk, he barely showed anything besides his poker face to Gordon. The younger of the two turned to address Scott and he could tell by the minute tic of Scott's cheek that Alan was in a bad place.

"How is he?" Gordon asked softly as he gazed back towards the sick-bay where he swore he could hear Virgil softly talking to one or all three boys back there, no doubt trying to assuage the two other boys that he'd do everything in his power to help Alan while en-route to the hospital.

"He's hanging on, but I don't know how he's finding the strength to. I'll say that much. He's definitely got a guardian angel working triple time." Scott said even as he saw Gordon lower his head almost in defeat. "We're not going to lose him."

"You don't know that, but I hope for dad's sake that you're right." Gordon replied.

Checking the GPS, Gordon picked up his hand-held radio and depressed the button so his voice amplified over the intercom.

"Attention passengers, we're approximately 20 minutes away from the nearest hospital and I've been in communication with the hospital staff so they know of our arrival and the condition of our passengers. Upon our landing, medical staff will enter the craft and take the worse injured first and foremost to triage before they provide care to anyone else requiring medical treatment." Gordon said before he released the intercom button and lowered his hand.

"Let me know when we get close." Scott said before he left to go see if Virgil needed any more help.

… … … … … … … … … … …

Jeff was listening to Scott and Gordon talk over the comm and he was elated that the boys had been rescued. He stood and grabbed his suit jacket and was putting it on as he breezed from the room. He encountered Brains and Kyrano in the hall outside the kitchen and at their questioning looks he nodded at them before speaking. "They found them."

Kyrano closed his eyes and clasped his hands together before smiling at the Tracy patriarch with misted eyes. Brains put a hand on his chest as if trying to calm his erratically beating heart.

"T-Thank god." Brains said before he hurried away. "F-Fermat will want to know Alan's been rescued."

"So, will my daughter." Kyrano said before he went to the kitchen where his wife and daughter were. Jeff was relieved and he didn't hesitate to go to Thunderbird Three to retrieve John. His second son was practically chomping at the bit to get back earth side. Ever since they'd figured out that they could offer their assistance to rescue services once those behind the kidnappings were caught, really.

Once he'd made it to the silo for Thunderbird Three, he stopped to give himself a minute to gather his thoughts and to whisper a prayer that Alan not be hurt too badly though he was there when he heard the other two boys trying to stem the blood flow. He knew Alan would need extensive medical attention to fully recover.

… … … … … … … … … … …

Virgil sighed as he and Gordon escorted the two youngsters after medical personnel retrieved Alan from the sick bay and whisked him away on a gurney for surgery. They'd been apprised of the situation and had gotten an operating room prepped and kept on standby so Alan could go straight in once they'd arrived.

Virgil was hoping the authorities didn't arrive too soon, he was hoping to hang out so he could hear word on Alan. However, he didn't have to worry because soon Scott was entering the waiting room and everybody that was waiting for medical attention were rendered speechless and in awe that they were in the presence of at least one of the operatives for International Rescue. Scott issued a soft whistle to Virgil and motioned for the middle brother to come closer. When Virgil was standing in front of Scott he was rewarded with a quiet albeit interesting request.

"The commander is requesting that you remain here with Gordon until the father and brothers of the boy that was shot arrive. Since he was rescued by us, the commander is saying we should assume medical responsibility in lieu of actual family." Scott whispered to Virgil before he leaned back and spoke more audibly. "I'm going to rendezvous with the FBI for a briefing."

"Yes, sir." Virgil said before he nodded at his younger brother. When Scott left, Gordon and Virgil turned back to see the two other boys leaning their heads together, as if they were whispering conspiratorially. The two older brothers walked over and sat across from the two teens and they quieted their whispering. Gordon and Virgil sat by in silence, looking at each other and somehow wordlessly communicating to the other. After a couple hours, Jeff arrived with John.

Virgil stood to shake Jeff's hand while Gordon did the same with John before Virgil explained that he and his comrades had located the boys using their specialized equipment. Gordon indicated the two boys sitting across from the International Rescue operatives. "These two boys took really diligent care of your son until we could help out."

Jeff walked to the two boys and hugged them, whispering a soft thank you for taking care of his son. When he pulled away, both boys were smiling nervously at having gotten a hug from _the_ Jefferson Tracy. The two International Rescue operatives took their leave, leaving Jeff and John with the other two boys who were awaiting treatment. Scott, Virgil and Gordon showed up within a half an hour, pretending that they'd just arrived from the airport when a surgeon came out to talk to Jeff about how Alan was doing.

"Your son survived the surgery, but he's not out of the woods yet. We were able to remove the bullet and other debris, so now he's in recovery. We've got him on a battery of antibiotics for now and we've got a bed ready in ICU when he wakes up from the anesthesia. I'll have a nurse come to retrieve you when Alan's been transferred." The surgeon said softly before he took his leave.

… … … … … … … … … … …

Another hour passed before a nurse emerged from behind the double personnel only door and she was carrying a clipboard. She glanced at the clipboard quickly before she looked up and spoke. The family had been left alone after medical personnel retrieved the other two boys for treatment of their wounds.

"The family for A. Tracy?" The nurse asked while nodding mutedly when Jeff stood, flanked by his sons.

"We are." Jeff said before stepping forward. "He's my son. These are his brothers."

"Come this way." The nurse said before she led the Tracy family through the halls to the adolescent intensive care unit. The family walked together as a group, John and Virgil both stayed close to their father. They knew he was scared. They were too. Virgil, Gordon and Scott had already seen Alan so they knew that he was a long way from being out of the woods. John and Jeff hadn't seen Alan yet so they weren't yet aware of how poor Alan's health was. Virgil, Scott and Gordon knew it was wrong, but they diligently kept all details about Alan's health when they'd rescued the three boys quiet. Virgil was hoping that Alan's health improved now that he had acquired the medical care that he desperately needed. "Your son was lucky, where the bullet went in – it came mere millimeters from vital organs. But the doctor repaired the wound and removed the surrounding shrapnel that entered Alan's midsection. He's thankfully not on a ventilator, so that means he's breathing on his own."

"Is he awake?" Gordon asked, though he knew that was hoping for too much.

"No, unfortunately…though I'm not surprised. He was exhausted when International Rescue arrived, he and those other boys. He's still out of it, but the doctor believes that Alan will awaken once he's gotten some adequate rest and has had the chance to recuperate." They stopped outside of the AICU and the nurse turned to the whole family. "Now, I don't want you all to be alarmed when you see him. But he's got an assortment of wires attached and he's got an oxygen mask to help him to breathe as he's still displaying Cheyne-stokes…but I'm confident that he'll be fine with time. Just talk to him, it's okay to hold his hand or to touch him gently. Just let him know you're there with him and I think it'll coax him out of his slumber. Normally we'd limit the number of visitors he's got at one time while in the AICU but considering the conditions in which he was brought here; the hospital is making an exception."

"Thank you, ma'am." Jeff said before he led his sons into the AICU. They walked over to Alan's bed and sat beside him. Jeff made the first move and he leaned down to kiss Alan's forehead and to gently run his fingers through his hair. Alan's hair was still dirty and there were still dirt smudges on Alan's cheeks and dirt beneath his finger nails. "Alan, it's dad. I've got your brothers here with me and we're so glad that you are back with us. Just know that we love you and we're waiting eagerly for you to wake up."

"Hey Sprout, it's just your most favorite brother of all time. I just wanted to say I love you and I'm rooting for you. Kick this injury in the family jewels and don't let it keep you down." Scott said as he tangled his fingers in Alan's hair and affectionately tugged like he normally would just to get Alan's goat.

"Most favorite brother of all time my foot, I know that I'm one of your most favorite brothers, not mister inflated ego behind me. I just wanted to tell you that I think you're a real trooper and I can't wait to talk to you and give you a proper hug." John said before he caressed Alan's cheek and watched the condensation gather in the oxygen mask that Alan was wearing. "Love you Sprout."

"Hey kiddo, just wanted to tell you how brave that I think you are and I'm so proud of you for hanging on. I know it couldn't have been easy, being in pain, lost in the wilderness and trying to outrun those guys that hurt you. Just know that I am proud of you and I love you very much." Virgil said softly before he raked his fingers through Alan's bangs to move them off his forehead. He leaned down to kiss his kid brother's forehead and he whispered to his baby brother again how proud he was that Alan could hang on. He felt his chest tighten with emotion, knowing that Alan was in good hands here. He didn't want to imagine if he hadn't been able to identify Cheyne-Stokes if his little brother would have survived. He doubted Alan would have been able to hang on without medical intervention. "I'm gonna move now so Gordo can spend some time with you, but just know we're all here waiting for you to wake up."

Gordon moved up along Alan's hospital bed and he leaned close so he could talk to his kid brother. He was angry that his little brother was in the hospital, was mad that his brother had gotten shot after getting kidnapped. That had to have been the coup de grace in his book. Getting shot after being kidnapped and taken to some remote location outside of the country. Still on the same continent, but off into the Canadian wilderness. He wished he'd accepted Alan's request to be a chaperone, but he wondered if he'd even been able to help his brother or if he'd been incapacitated in some manner. "I'm sorry Sprout, if I'd known this was gonna happen…I'd have been there to protect you like I promised mom I would."

"Gordon, there's nothing you could have done to prevent this. If you'd been there you could have been killed." Jeff said as he tried to get Gordon to understand.

"But dad…if I'd been there…if I'd just accepted Alan's request to be a chaperone I might have been able to…" Gordon said, looking more and more distraught.

"To what Gordon? Get shot as well? Get kidnapped like Alan and Fermat were? We're fortunate that Alan and Fermat were not killed by these guys. You know how hard it was for us to sit and listen to the transmission, can you imagine how we'd have felt if we'd have to listen knowing you were with Alan and Fermat?" Scott asked.

"But I have military training, I might have been able to better protect Alan and Fermat." Gordon tried again before he got shut down by Scott again.

"I have military training as well Gordo, but they might have viewed any one of us as a threat and killed Alan for even being there." Scott said again before Virgil shushed them.

"This is a hospital, we're not in the infirmary back at home. Keep your voices down." Virgil hissed as he used his thumb and gently rubbed over Alan's eyebrows which wrinkled slightly with the volume of his brother's raised voices. "Easy Al…go back to sleep."

… … … … … … … … … … …

It took a day and a half before Alan woke up. He woke early, his brother John sleeping in a chair beside his bed. When he came awake he simply looked at his brother before he moved painstakingly slow to shake John's arm. John inhaled audibly before he pried his eyes open. Once he realized what or rather who woke him up, he gave an easy smile.

"Alan…you're awake." John whispered softly as he sat up and groaned because of the discomfort of the position he'd slept in. "How're you feeling?"

Sore…that's what Alan wanted to say but his mouth was incredibly dry and so he emitted nothing more than a croak. The noise he'd made told John that he was thirsty and so he'd jumped into action, retrieving the little cup of ice chips that a nurse must have brought in when Alan and John were asleep. He opened his mouth like a baby bird in anticipation of the ice when John scooped up a small spoonful and gave it to his brother. Once he'd gotten rid of his dry mouth, Alan tried to speak again and managed a whisper.

"Thanks." Alan whispered, bringing a smile to John's face.

"No prob. So…how're you feeling? Okay? Do you need me to call the nurse?" John asked watching Alan carefully for any tells that would alert him that Alan was lying.

"C-Could you call t-the nurse?" Alan asked softly before settling back against his pillows.

"Sure, one second." John said before he pressed the nurse call button. Once he'd done that he resumed giving Alan small bites of ice to wet his whistle. "How're you feeling?"

"I didn't know my body could hurt so bad." Alan mumbled before looking at his older brother. "Where's dad?"

"He's back at the hotel. I had to have Scott practically drag him out. He made me promise to stay here with you. Just so you wouldn't be alone." John said. He smiled when the nurse entered the room and she came closer to inspect Alan's IV and other lines trailing all over Alan like snakes. "Hi."

"Hello gentlemen, how're you doing?" The nurse smiled at Alan before she grabbed the temporal thermometer and ran it over Alan's forehead. She was quiet as she wrote the numbers of Alan's temperature in her clipboard. She knew Alan had a minor fever but she wasn't too concerned. After she waited a minute, she asked Alan if he wanted John there while she checked his stitches.

"Stitches?" Alan asked tiredly as he looked over at his nurse. "Why do I have stitches?"

"Al, little brother…what do you remember?" John asked, trying to ascertain how far back Alan's memory of the whole incident went.

"Pain…we got taken by some guys with guns. They smuggled us across the Canadian border, switched us from the school bus to a new vehicle. Some guys stopped the bus and they demanded we were let go. They used me as a shield and…then they started shooting." Alan said. He was looking at John as he explained. "I was so scared Johnny…I did the best I could but it hurt so much."

"I know…I know…ssh." John whispered when it became apparent that Alan was growing distraught. "You're okay now…you're back with us and you won't have to see them again unless you're asked to testify in the event of a trial."

"I don't even know what they looked like. They were wearing masks. I wouldn't be able to identify them, they barely spoke." Alan whispered brokenly at the thought of a trial. "The guy that kept a gun in my back spoke for everyone. He was the boss and everyone listened to him."

"Al, Al, Al, easy…calm down. Can you tell me what happened? You already know you needed stitches, but can you tell me why you needed stitches?" John said, trying to calm his little brother down and ease his distress.

"I got shot…they shot me." Alan said before he looked between the nurse and his brother. "Am I gonna be okay?"

John looked at Alan before looking at the nurse and she notified the doctor via her pager. "The doctor will have more information regarding your injuries. In the meantime, might I check your stitches?"

Alan nodded mutedly before reaching out when John offered his hand and silently begged John to stay with him. He didn't want to be left alone, he felt safer at least having his brother with him. The nurse adjusted Alan's blanket to cover him from the waist down before gathering up his hospital gown and lifting it so she could look at the gauze that was taped over Alan's midsection. Alan was scared to look when the nurse delicately removed the gauze bandaging and inspected the wound. John looked down trying to ignore the nausea that stirred in his gut at the sight of Alan's wound. He got Alan's attention and whispered encouragingly to him when Alan stiffened at the pain from the nurse's ministrations.

"Everything looks good Alan, I'm going to leave it open to air for the time being so the doctor can look at it when he gets here." The nurse said softly.

"Thanks." John whispered at the same time as Alan. When they were alone, Alan sucked in as deep a breath as he dared and looked down at his midsection before hissing. He couldn't believe he'd actually been shot. It left him stunned that after following the kidnapper's direct orders he still got shot. "So, Alan how're you feeling besides sore?"

"Like I got shot." Alan replied weakly. "How long until we were rescued?"

"Two and a half days after you three were taken into the forest, but three and a half days after you all were kidnapped." John said before he leaned in close to whisper to Alan. "And when you activated the one-way relay system so I knew you were in trouble."

"I didn't know what else to do. When he put that gun against my back and threatened me, my first thought was to make it possible for you to know what was going on." Alan said, turning his head and gazing tiredly back at John. "I didn't know what else to do."

"You did just fine Alan, you did exactly what was expected of you in that situation. Put it out of your mind from here on out, you need only focus on getting some more rest. I'll wake you when the doctor gets here." John said before he leaned closer and took Alan by the hand and gave him a comforting squeeze. "Go back to sleep."


	4. Never Take For Granted

**_A/N: So, this is the final installment for this story. Thank you to all of those that left a review, favorited or followed this story present and future. I had a good time writing this even if it wasn't very much fun for the Tracy family. _**

**_Hope you enjoy this final chapter and hope to see reviews, those are what make writing worth it._**

**_Thank you friends and fellow readers/writers._**

**_On with the story!_**

**_Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010_**

* * *

When Jeff returned to the hospital with Virgil, Scott and Gordon they all made a bee line for Alan's ward in the adolescent intensive care unit. There they found John reading aloud to Alan and the youngest with a cold compress on his forehead. Alan's eyes were cracked and he was looking at his brother that was propped on the bed and reading softly but adding character to the speakers in the book. When Jeff came in with his other sons Alan weakly turned his head to see his dad before extending a hand and reaching for his father.

If you'd told Jeff that Alan would one-day act like a young child despite being fourteen years old, he might have laughed. But as it was, Jeff was more than happy to quicken his stride until he was bending down to hug his youngest son. Jeff saw John place a bookmark in his book before he stood to motion to his brothers, giving Jeff a chance to spend a little one on one time with his youngest whom he'd nearly lost…again. As if the first time wasn't bad enough with the avalanche and losing his wife, he had to almost lose his youngest child not once, not twice but three times already. The second time was a few months earlier when the Hood had infiltrated their home base and hijacked Thunderbird Two to attempt the biggest bank heist known to ever go down in history.

"I'm so sorry we couldn't get to you quick enough. I swear we didn't know until you notified John. He told us what was going on and we didn't know how to help you without getting you killed." Jeff said, squeezing his eyes tightly shut to ward off the tears that were welling in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Alan reached up with the hand that had the IV feeding him pain medications and patted his dad's arm comfortingly.

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't know." Alan mumbled softly under his breath. He didn't groan or fuss when his dad kissed his temple and forehead like he usually did but he took comfort from the affection. Neither Alan nor Jeff dared to let go of the other and they got comfortable where they were on Alan's hospital bed. Alan fell asleep after some time and a refreshed cold compress later. He had tilted his head just so and was using his dad's chest as a pillow which was more than okay with Jeff. He was just relieved that he'd get to spend more time with his son, that Alan's being shot hadn't been what ended his life. Jeff hoped to spend more time with Alan until they'd both lived full lives and died at a much later age.

John, Scott, Virgil and Gordon returned a while later and quietly crept into the room to see their dad dozing lightly with his head resting on top of Alan's. Gordon being the more playful of the brothers, couldn't resist the temptation of snapping a picture of their patriarch and youngest brother. He smiled at the endearing picture before saving it for future blackmail. The brothers sat around Alan's bed quietly until their dad woke up after maybe a half an hour cat nap. He smiled at his son for a moment before looking up at his other sons and whispering with them while Alan slept.

"How's he doing?" Scott asked as he was carefully appraised of his little brother's condition. Alan's cheeks were an almost dusky pink hue and the patriarch placed the back of his hand against Alan's cheeks before checking the temperature of the cold compress. When he was dissatisfied with the temperature of the compress, he removed the compress to go refresh it in the sink within the room.

"He's still got a bit of a fever, but his doctor said he'd be surprised if Alan wasn't running a small fever after his ordeal." Jeff said before he returned to replace the compress on Alan's forehead. "He was made vulnerable to infection after the gunshot wound, but the doctor has him on a battery of antibiotics to ward off any possible infections. Alan's biggest threat right now is the possibility of gangrene but his doctor is keeping a close eye on Alan's wound and checking it frequently."

"Did the doctor say when he'd like to transfer Alan to a normal room?" Gordon asked as he looked carefully at his brother.

"He doesn't believe Alan will be in the AICU any longer, provided he doesn't encounter any complications. When I talked to his doctor just before Alan and I took a nap, he told me that he'd like to move Alan as early as tomorrow provided he doesn't take a turn for the worse. So, we'll just have to wait and see." Jeff said softly.

"Well, I for one will be more than happy when he's ready to come home to convalesce." Scott commented before he sat on a chair beside Alan's bed and watched him with a careful eye once more.

… … … … … … … … … … …

"Okay, Alan. You're going to feel a little weightless for a moment. Just let us do all the work." Alan's doctor said as a couple aides lined the bed two on each side. Alan closed his eyes and felt himself stiffen as he indeed felt weightless before he was transferred to a new bed in a room all his own. Once he'd been adequately settled, Alan was allowed to have visitors once more and he smiled tiredly as his dad and brothers entered his room.

"Hey." Alan said softly, holding out one of his hands and gracing his dad with a tired smile. "How are you guys today?"

"We're better now that we can see you." Jeff said before he leaned down and pressed a kiss on Alan's forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. Tired mostly." Alan said, stifling a yawn.

"Nurses waking you all hours of the night…huh Sprout?" Gordon asked as he walked forward and raked his fingers through his little brother's hair. "How's your side?"

"It's alright. Still hurts." Alan said, shifting slightly as his side throbbed at the mention of the gunshot wound which not only resulted in a recovery surgery to retrieve the bullet lodged, but an appendectomy. Alan's appendectomy wasn't mandatory, but his surgeon went ahead and did it anyway because the wound had gotten infected and he feared the future necessity of a second surgery would impede Alan's recovery.

"Just a while longer then we can take you home and you can be reassured that you will be allowed to sleep through the night, barring Gordon's pranks waking you up." Virgil said as he sat on the edge of Alan's bed and smiled at his little brother. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"You and me both." Alan said before he thumbed the controls for his bed and slowly raised the head of his bed. "Have any of you heard from Jared or Matthew?"

"Not from them per se, their parents took them back home once they were cleared. They just needed some fluids and some minor bandages for some scratches. Andrew though has been pestering his dad and he's coming out to the house to visit with Fermat tomorrow. Andrew and Fermat were scared out of their gourds when everyone started shooting." Scott said as he copied Virgil and sat on the other side of Alan's hospital bed. "We talked to them just before they were discharged and they asked us to keep them updated on your condition. I've been emailing them but I haven't heard back from them yet. I assume they're spending time with their family after the kidnapping."

"Can I have their email addresses when we get home?" Alan asked, turning a tired smile at John. He was more than thankful that John had been at Thunderbird 5 and was able to contact their family. He wasn't sure of when the relay system quit on his watch, but he wondered how much of his ordeal his family heard.

"Sure, Sprout." Scott replied before he gently squeezed Alan's knee.

"Thank you for not giving up on me." Alan whispered tiredly.

It wasn't that he was incredibly tired, he was just feeling out of it from being woken up periodically by the nurses to check his vitals and to monitor his fever. Alan knew he was a light sleeper and it was hard for him to sleep if anyone entered the room he was sleeping in. He seemed to sense when they came into the room and he woke up to see who was in his room. Still it wasn't a surprise to the family when they noticed that Alan had fallen asleep.

"Thank you for not giving up on us, your classmates and yourself." Jeff murmured as he watched Alan settle back into his pillows.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

It was a week and a half later that Alan found himself discharged. He was slow to move, his limbs lethargic as he dressed to leave…or try to dress. His limbs felt weighted down with the heaviest lead available so he didn't balk much when Scott took it upon himself to help Alan dress.

"Okay Al, here we go." Scott said before he bunched the shirt up from hemline to neck hole. Alan lifted his head and looked at his oldest brother through dark circled eyes. He was tired beyond belief, was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed back home. He lifted his hands when Scott reached through the arm holes to pull his arms up and through. Once Alan was dressed, Scott knelt to prop Alan's feet on his knee so he could put Alan's slippers on. "Okay, you're all ready to go. Now we just lack your discharge paperwork."

"And your wish is my command." John said with a smirk when he and their dad entered Alan's hospital room to present the mentioned paperwork. "Is our little intrepid ready to go home?"

"I think our little intrepid is ready for a nap." Scott commented when his little brother leaned his head against the elder's hip. He draped an arm around Alan's shoulders and he rubbed his upper arm comfortingly as he noticed Alan was very quickly falling asleep. "Hey kiddo, do you think you can try to stay awake a few more minutes?"

"No…I'm tired." Alan whined as he tried to pry his heavy eyelids open.

"I know you're tired kiddo, but you can sleep in the car…okay?" Scott said before he let his dad take control of the wheelchair handles and they walked out together. When they went by the front desk, the family waved at the staff on shift.

"Good luck out there kiddo."

"Get to feeling better here soon."

"We'll miss you kiddo."

When they got out to the parking lot, Alan watched with disinterest as the family SUV pulled up alongside the curb. He waited until John reached in the backseat to pull the seat forward so Virgil and Gordon could clamber in before Alan was allowed to crawl into the middle seat and lay down. With the wheelchair being moved away, John climbed in on the other side and he grabbed a pillow from the floorboard before laying it in his lap so Alan could lay his head on the pillow.

Before they made it out of the hospital parking lot, Alan was asleep. Scott sat in the front passenger seat and he watched his baby brother and immediate younger brother fondly. He was glad that Alan was recovered enough to go home. Now the only problem they faced was ensuring that Alan was well enough to fly home. They were still in Canada for that matter and they were going to head back as far as they could get to the border so that they'd be that much closer to getting Alan back home.

The drive was nothing special, Virgil and Gordon sat in the far backseat talking quietly amongst themselves while John stared at the scenery whizzing past the window as they drove. He had a hand on Alan's shoulder, rubbing his thumb up and down – reminding himself that Alan had been rescued and he'd be okay with time. He was still reeling from Alan thinking to connect the relay station on Thunderbird 5 so that John had a blow by blow account of just what the hell was going on. He knew his brother was smart, but he'd admit that he often underestimated just how smart and clever Alan could be.

Turning his gaze back on his brother, John marveled at how much the kid had matured. He remembered a tiny blonde that followed he and the rest of his brothers around like a lost puppy. The little brother he recalled had grown so much over the years and John counted himself lucky to have a second chance to be a better brother to Alan. He deserved that at least. The kidnapping and being lost in the wilderness opened John's eyes to just how quick a life might come to an end.

"John, I need your passport." Scott said, breaking John from his thoughts. The younger grabbed Virgil and Gordon's passports as well as his and Alan's before handing them up to Scott. When he glanced up he could see they were at the border, thus the reason for needing their passports. When they made it across the border, it was with a deeply exhaled sigh. They were that much closer to getting back home. Now all that was left was to get to their penthouse and sleep for the night then fly out at first light.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Once they'd made it to the penthouse, Scott took the liberty of hefting Alan up into his arms carefully when the younger stayed asleep. The younger boy must have been exhausted, he didn't stir much at being picked up nor jostled when Scott was trying to get comfortable with supporting Alan's weight. They made it back up to the penthouse without issue and Jeff helped Scott get Alan settled in his bed. Once the youngest was settled, Scott and Jeff backed quietly out of the room so as not to disturb Alan's sleep.

"Is he good?" John asked softly when Jeff pulled the door shut.

"He's sound asleep." Scott said with a nod.

"Good, the kid must have been tired." Virgil said with a sigh.

"If you ever tried to get sleep in the hospital…you'd understand." Gordon said knowing from experience that though the medical staff meant well, a hospital was just no place to get adequate sleep.

"Oh, when are we leaving?" Virgil asked as he prepared to go sit on the couch.

"I figure we can leave a little after eight. It'll give us all a chance to sleep and gives Alan a break from being on the move." Jeff said hoping that Alan would recover from this incident. Jeff was hesitant to send Alan back off to school despite getting a good education. Maybe Alan was right, maybe he should be educated through home studies. It'd certainly be the safer option.

With that, the family felt the pangs of hunger and they ordered out. When it'd been delivered, they'd been more than a little surprised when Alan's bedroom door cracked open and a sleepy blue-eyed boy emerged from within. He was holding his midsection where he'd been shot as if he was in pain and Virgil went over to lend a hand to the slow-moving boy.

"There any for me?" Alan asked when he saw the white Styrofoam containers stacked on the coffee table.

"We didn't know what you'd be in the mood for so we got you some chicken noodle soup." Scott said before he picked up the Styrofoam cup and removed the lid.

"Works for me." Alan mumbled before he sat on the couch beside Virgil and accepted the cup of soup. He sipped on the broth while the rest of his family ate their meals in silence. When Alan finished his soup, it was a contented sigh that told his family that Alan was soon to fall asleep again. Virgil being the closest to his youngest brother set aside his dinner so he could help Alan up and get him tucked back into bed. He'd need to check Alan's side, but he'd let it slide just this once so Alan could go back to sleep. He led the younger back to his bedroom and got him situated before providing him with the antibiotics and pain pill prescribed to him by his attending.

"Okay kiddo, time for you to get some shuteye." Virgil said before he pulled the blanket up higher to cover Alan's shoulders. The middle son could see Alan was on a fast track for slumbersville and he sat with Alan for just a few more minutes before the youngest was sound asleep once more.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The following morning came much faster than expected. When the Tracy's loaded the family jet, they couldn't help but to treat Alan like he was a piece of fragile China and Alan didn't blame them nor did he mind being coddled for the time being. He'd tolerate it for now, just being glad for the chance to be cossetted by his father and brothers. When he'd been lost in the wild with Jared and Matthew, he wondered if they'd ever find help. He didn't remember much.

According to the two boys with him Alan had been in and out of consciousness the longer they went without proper nourishment, hydration and the more blood Alan lost. He'd needed three units of blood upon arrival to the emergency room and there'd been several specialists in the operating room when Alan was whisked in. He'd needed a pulmonologist or a specialist for his breathing, a trauma surgeon to remove the bullet and ultimately his appendix, a cardiologist to monitor his heart function, a neurologist to check his brain function and how his brain might have been affected by the breathing difficulty and that wasn't including the phlebotomist administering the units of blood and watching for shock as his blood supply was replenished or the countless nurses and other emergency personnel.

Virgil and Gordon who'd been the ones to deliver Alan to the emergency room had thought the hall was sheer pandemonium, but they weren't in the operating room so they didn't see the hordes of people involved in Alan's care.

What Alan did remember was patchy, he'd come in and out, lose track of time and be utterly confused one minute and completely out of it the next.

When they'd gotten home, Alan had asked to walk to his room. He was permitted to do so, but Virgil had mandated that Alan would be spending the night in the infirmary for the foreseeable future, at least for a few days. Once more Alan didn't fight too much about it. He was just glad to be back home.

"Okay Virgil, you have my word." Alan said before he slowly stood from the chair that his brothers retrieved for him upon descending the jet and he placed a hand gingerly on his abdomen and walked painstakingly slow to the lift that would take him to the main floor in the villa. When he exited the lift, he was welcomed by Fermat and Tin-Tin. The two teens both greeted Alan exuberantly, only barely remembering that he was still recovering from a wound they both heard about from Brains and Kyrano; warning them they needed to be gentle with the older boy. "Hey guys."

"Alan! I'm so glad you're home!" Tin-Tin said with hushed excitement while wrapping her arms around Alan's neck and pressing a kiss on his cheek.

Fermat was next to hug Alan and his younger friend was shaking as he hugged Alan and it didn't surprise the older boy as much as it should have that Fermat feared that his best friend was dead after knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that Alan had been shot. He'd been there, as much as he'd like to deny the things he'd seen…he couldn't ignore the lasting impression of hearing the loud booms as the bullets began to fly, seeing Alan stumble and the arm not being wrenched from its shoulder socket wrap around his midsection or worse yet; hearing Alan yelp as the bullet made impact with his body and Alan wasn't able to stop. The whole trip was a reminder of why he was glad to live on a sparsely populated island with the Tracy's and the Belegant's.

"Alan!" Fermat didn't know what to say other than his best friend's name. He'd worried endlessly that the next time he saw his best friend it'd be in a casket. Sure, he didn't believe that Alan would die right away, but realistically speaking Fermat knew that it'd be only a matter of time before Alan succumbed to his injuries or worse; infection. He wasn't ignorant, he knew that Alan had less than a 50/50 chance of surviving once the three kidnapped teens had been discovered as missing by the K-9 units.

"I'm okay Fermat, I'm okay." Alan said though it was clear that the older boy wasn't okay. He'd developed a sheen of sweat on his forehead as he remained standing and his breathing had taken on a labored air.

"Come on, you need to be in bed." Tin-Tin said before she gently wrapped an arm around Alan's back. Fermat copied Tin-Tin's actions and they both led Alan to his room where they turned their backs to grant Alan the illusion of privacy while he changed into his pajamas. When he was dressed, he accepted the help from the other two teens as he was settled into his bed. "Can either I or Fermat get anything for you?"

"No, I'm good for now. If you want to stay and visit with me though, I'd greatly appreciate the company." Alan said tiredly. He offered his friends a smile and he was careful about laughing so he didn't jar his wounds or pull his stitches. When dinner time rolled around, Alan was helped down the stairs by his friends where he was permitted to sit on the couch instead of at the table to eat dinner.

When dinner was done, Alan was led to the infirmary by Virgil who checked Alan's healing wound to be sure none of Alan's stitches had popped.

"Alright kiddo, you're good to go." Virgil said before he removed the gloves he'd donned. "Doctor's word still goes, you'll be taking it easy until your next appointment and I don't want to see you trying to help with chores, no matter how bored you get." Virgil said before he made it a point to tuck Alan into the infirmary bed. "Go to sleep, I'll wake you when it's time for your next pain pill. Though I want you to wake me up if the pain gets bad."

"Okay, thanks Virgil." Alan said before he settled back into his pillows. He smiled up at his brother when the medic ruffled his hair gently.

"No problem kiddo." Virgil said, dimming the lights before he left the infirmary. Alan yawned widely before he closed his eyes, allowing sleep to claim him.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Virgil." Alan mumbled as he came awake, hoping when he looked around he'd see his older brother nearby. The infirmary was empty aside from Alan and the teen was wondering where his brother was. He tried to ignore the reason why he woke up and soon he couldn't ignore it. He sighed lowly to himself as he kicked his blankets back and stood, holding a hand to his midsection gingerly. The grimace was clearly visible and the boy didn't bother hiding it. He needed to go and get Virgil, his brother seemed to have fallen asleep or forgot that he had to provide Alan his pain pill. He glanced at the clock on his way out of the infirmary and felt dismay. It wasn't time for his next dose. Fighting the tremble of his bottom lip, Alan pushed onwards.

He slowly made his way to his brother's bedroom just down the hall from the infirmary and when he got there he nearly cried in relief. His brother however was sound asleep and Alan knew it'd be a struggle to wake him, but the pain was bad and he didn't think he could last until his next dose. He walked over to Virgil's bed and gave him a gentle shake.

"Virge, wake up." Alan said, not bothering to be quiet. Virgil's room was nowhere near the rest of his family so the chances of waking somebody else was nil to none. "Virgil."

The older brother groaned as he came awake and he didn't appreciate the early wake up, but being a member of International Rescue had its setbacks.

"What?" Virgil asked, voice rough from sleep and coughing into his pillow when it became clear that he needed a drink.

"Can I get my next dose early?" Alan asked as he stood above Virgil, a hand held to his midsection.

Virgil struggled to keep his sleep deprived eyes open as he checked his watch.

"You're two hours too early." Virgil said groggily before looking at Alan to ascertain if Alan really needed the next dose.

"I know, but it really hurts." Alan said his voice trembling because of the pain he felt. The elder pushed back his blankets before he stood to escort Alan back to his bed in the infirmary, together they walked and after Virgil gave him half of his pain pill. Alan laid awake talking to Virgil while they waited for the medication to kick in.

By the time Alan's pill kicked in, Alan could barely form a coherent sentence and he soon fell into a drugged sleep. Virgil checking the time decided to unmake one of the other infirmary beds and go to sleep there so if Alan should awaken again before Virgil, he wouldn't have to go far to find him.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Alan was on restricted duty for another two weeks and by the time he was released by his doctor, the school year was over and Alan along with Fermat ventured back to the school for the end of the year awards ceremony. The dean of the school made it a type of tradition that on the last day of school, the students could dress down and wear what was comfortable. Alan wore basketball shorts as did Fermat. When they entered the auditorium, Alan was welcomed back like a hero. Even students that didn't regularly talk to him came forward to offer him a pat on the back and a 'welcome back'. Matthew and Jared were much the same and soon the ceremony was beginning.

"Gentlemen, congratulations on another year done here at Wharton's Academy for boys. You've all done remarkably well and I must commend you all for your accomplishments. First, I'd like to start off by welcoming those young men that had been kidnapped a few weeks ago back. It wasn't the same without you all here and I'd also like to praise Mr. Alan Tracy, Matthew Taylor and Jared Hawthorne for keeping their cool after they became lost in the woods while escaping their captors. I'm glad you three gentlemen are okay and I hope you'll forgive us for not protecting you better, I think I speak for everyone here today and I hope you'll accept our apology." The dean said as he got up on the stage and greeted the students and faculty members before he turned his attention on the students that had been traumatized by their experience.

It wasn't announced by the dean, but the insurance agency that insured the school was covering the medical bills of the students that had been hurt or otherwise traumatized during the kidnapping and subsequent capture of the other three students that escaped on foot and survived in the woods for three nights.

With the commencement of the award ceremony, those that didn't necessarily want to be there soon found themselves struggling to keep their eyes open. Alan was among those that didn't want to be there. He would have preferred to be at home lounging around in his pajamas, but his dad told him that he needed to show his face so his class mates would know he was okay. Needless to say, he was surprised when he heard his name over the speakers and he looked up to see the dean motioning him to come forward.

Alan who was sitting on the outside edge, stood and made his way to the stage where he was given an award certificate for most improved grades as well as a second award. It was a bit of a surprise to be given a second award considering he hadn't done anything for it, but it was much appreciated. The second award was enclosed in an envelope and Alan didn't think to open it immediately. He didn't open it until he was loaded in the car with Fermat and Parker had begun driving.

"W-What is that Alan?" Fermat asked as he stared at the regular business envelope. Each of the students that had been on the trip where they'd been kidnapped had been given a similar envelope and Alan was curious. Fermat looked at his before looking back at Alan with a look of confusion.

"You've got me." Alan replied before he ripped the flap and removed the contents. He read them quietly, eyes growing in size as he saw what it was. "Dude, you've got to be kidding me!"

"What?" Fermat asked before he leaned over and snatched the paper from Alan's hand to read it before he tore into his own envelope.

"The faculty asked my family what was one thing I wanted and I got two all-expense paid tickets to see Daytona 500 next year. There's also a letter explaining that the faculty pooled together to get something for each of the students that were kidnapped." Alan was shocked at what he'd received, those tickets didn't come cheap and he knew he'd need to begin writing up thank you cards to send to the faculty members. "What'd you get Fermat?"

Fermat looked at the contents of his envelope with eyes equally as big. Believe it or not, he'd never been to a theme park before and he'd always wanted to experience the thrill of amusement park rides. Needless to say, that he'd gotten tickets to Six Flags and he'd always looked longingly at the commercials. He didn't want to ask his dad if they could go and he refused to ask Mr. Tracy. They were all busy enough as it was, they didn't need an added trip to make life more difficult.

Alan whistled when he saw the tickets and he smiled at Fermat when he saw a similar letter.

"Sweet!" Alan was impressed. He hadn't thought the school faculty would have done anything other than excuse the extended absences of the students that had been kidnapped after they'd been recovered and returned to their families.

"Misters' Alan and Fermat, we'll be landing shortly if the two of you would be so kind as to put on your safety belts once more." Parker said as he radioed to Tracy Island and prepared for landing.

"Yes Parker." Alan and Fermat said, both boys fastening their seatbelts and waiting eagerly to be returned to the island where they could drop off their suitcases and start their summer vacation.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

A month later found Alan and Fermat with their combined island family, the Belegants included at Six Flags Amusement Park and with it there was lots of laughter and smiles. Alan, Tin-Tin and Fermat ran ahead of their respective families to eagerly wait in line for the ride Bizarro. Alan, the family thrill seeker was holding Tin-Tin's hand smiling reassuringly at her. She was scared to death despite being excited, this being her first time on a roller coaster as it was for Fermat. Alan was the only one out of the group of three friends that had been to amusement parks before.

It was a pleasant experience for everyone, a good way to relax and recover after the last few months. Alan had been cleared by his doctor, they'd completed the rest of their school term via home studies and were preparing for another year at Wharton's despite the previous encounter. The school reassured all the families of the students enrolled that security would be increased, including having a guard present on the bus with all the students on any future excursions.

Everyone was lucky this last time that it hadn't turned out to be something more disastrous. The school wasn't taking chances, especially since the boys enrolled in their facility were children of some of the world's most powerful or otherwise influential parents. The school learned their lesson as did the students both on the bus that fateful day and the ones at the school that were dealt the devastating news that friends or relatives on that bus had been kidnapped. Nobody was going to take that risk.

Jeff and his sons as well as Brains watched their two boys, both of whom had been kidnapped that day less than two months ago. They all smiled, thankful that they were blessed to have more days with their boys. Jeff couldn't help but to thank his lucky stars that Alan had been spared while Brains was thankful that his only child had been out of danger as soon as the members of the FBI and other law enforcement officers had the opportunity to intervene. Each of the Tracy brothers marveled that Alan was recovering as well as he was. Scott, Virgil, and Gordon recalling vividly how poor Alan's health was when they'd offered their assistance. The three of them doubted they'd soon forget. John doubted the memory of the gunfire ringing out would ever leave his head, the memory clear as day. They'd probably always remember, but then they didn't want to dismiss how much Alan meant to them all and they would rather remember how close they came to losing him as opposed to taking his presence for granted. This kidnapping and subsequent journey through the wilderness was paramount to reminding them how precious life was for them all. Each of them could soon find themselves on a rescue or like their mom, on an innocent vacation that could just as easily claim a life.

They had to enjoy each day no matter how much they drove the other crazy and not take them for granted. Because in the blink of an eye, it could all change.


End file.
